Reddit Stories - Relaxing Reddit Confessions Bedtime for Sleep ( Over 9 Hour Compilation ) - Episode #100

Episode Date: January 30, 2026

#redditstories #askreddit #aita #confessions #bedtime #sleep #relaxation #storytime  Summary: This episode features a compilation of soothing Reddit confessions designed to help listeners unwind before sleep. Each story offers a unique perspective, encouraging relaxation and reflection. Perfect for those seeking comfort and tranquility, these tales create a calming atmosphere ideal for bedtime listening.  Tags: redditstories, askreddit, reddit, aita, tifu, bedtimecompilation, sleepstories, relaxation, soothing, storytelling, confessions, calming, nighttime, podcast, mindfulness, selfcare, tranquility, peaceful, mentalhealth, unwindingBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/reddit-stories--6816713/support.This episode includes AI-generated content.

I hope you enjoy this story. The foster child departed from us to reunite with her affluent biological parents, and later appeared at the memorial service of my spouse with a legal representative seeking entitlements after an eight-year absence. Greetings, Reddit. I recently lost my husband and our ex-adoptive daughter showed up at the funeral to throw a tantrum, so I said and did some things that I'm going to talk about in a while. But before that, let me give you guys some context about our family,

so you guys are able to make a judgment. I, 47F, and my husband, 47M, had been together since we were in high school. We got married when I was 21 and at 25, we decided to start trying for a baby. Unfortunately, as it turned out, both of us were struggling with infertility issues and after almost two years of trying, we decided to adopt. We could have tried IVF, but we decided to adopt it on purpose because we wanted to do something good for the world. And we decided to adopt through the foster care system because we knew that there are many abandoned kids who could do so much better in life if they had the right kind of care and attention. That's how we first met Elena, our daughter. She was four years old when we started fostering her since she had ended up in the first case system because her biological parents were addicts and

she did not have any other family members willing to take her in. At five years of age, she was legally adopted by us after one year of fostering her, since her birth parents decided to give up their rights because they didn't think that they would ever be up to the task of raising a daughter and believed that she would be better off with us. We had a closed adoption, which meant that they wouldn't have any contact with Elena after she was adopted by us and they honored that agreement until she turned 18. I still find it hard to talk about, but when she turned 18, they decided to reach out to her and asked her to come stay with them because they had finally cleaned up their act and really wanted her to give them a chance. And even though my husband and I had been her parents for

most of her life, she decided to abandon us so she could stay with her biological parents. All of this had happened behind our back and by the time she had made the decision of leaving us, it was too late for us to fix it. Besides, I had kind of figured out exactly why she wanted to be with her biological parents and not us. It was because they were loaded and we were not, there's just no other way to say it. I guess they had just. They had just, genuinely turned their lives around and had gone from being addicts who couldn't even afford rent, to a really influential business family. From what I know, Elena also had two biological siblings, a brother who was six years younger than her and a sister who was eight years younger.

It's great that they had turned their lives around, but it did not prove to be so great for us because Elena decided to choose them over us and it really broke our hearts. I don't think either of us was ever able to move on from that, neither my husband nor I. We just made our peace with it, but that's just because we had two, we had no other option. Elena was 18 when she left, a legal adult, so we couldn't try to bring her back. So we just had to let her go. But then, the more we thought about it, the less surprising it seemed because right from when she was really young, Elena had always been quite materialistic.

It wasn't really a thing when she was too young, but by the time she hit middle school, we could see that she liked the good things in life. And we didn't have a problem with it, my husband and I, luckily, have never struggled with money and have had a comfortable life. But as she grew older, her demands grew more outrageous, and we had to start trying to discipline her because her expectations were really unrealistic. We were comfortable, yes, but we were not the kind of family who could just take time off from work whenever we wanted to just go on vacation. We know the kind of family who could afford long trips to exotic locations or the kind of parents who could give her an exorbitant amount of pocket money so she could blow it all on clubs and parties.

By the time she was 16, we were already having a lot of trouble dealing with her and were at our wits' end to keep her under control because we didn't want her to become irresponsible and careless. But that's the way she was going and then, the situation got worse. When around her 18th birthday, she was contacted by her parents and they decided to write her an email telling her everything about themselves. A few years after she had been given up for adoption, they decided to clean up their act because it was a wake-up call for them, the fact that they literally had to give up their baby because they couldn't take care of her. Their families had cut

them off, so their friends and a couple of well-wishers arranged for them to start again. It was really difficult for them in the beginning because they were not exactly ideal candidates for any job, but they managed to turn it around. By the time they were pregnant with their second child, both of them had stable jobs and a decent income. And around the time that their third child was on the way, they had started their own business, dealing in kitchen supplies. With time, they just kept growing and finally, 14 years after they had given her up for adoption, they decided to reach out to her on her 18th birthday to tell her that they wanted her back in their lives and give their family a shot again. They had thought

about it a lot and were not sure if it would be the right move to make because they didn't want to disrupt her life as it was. They also had to think about the fact that theirs was a closed adoption and they were legally not allowed to get in touch with her without her consent, unless she tried to seek them out and reach out to them first. But they couldn't wait for that to happen, so they had to pull a lot of strings to find out more about Elena, just so they could speak to her. The sad part was that instead of telling us about the email, Elena decided to start meeting them behind our backs and began to build a relationship with her biological parents without us knowing. That's how she was able to find out how rich they were and four months after her birthday,

she decided that she was going to move in with them and try to become a part of their family. I still remember it as clear as if it was yesterday, the day that she decided to tell me and my husband that she had made up her mind, that she was going to go back to her birth family and give them a chance. I distinctly remember how shocked we were when she made us read that email she had been sent by them on her birthday because we had never seen this coming, and she had completely chosen to ignore our shock and disappointment and told us that she said. she had been spending a lot of time with them.

While she had been telling us that she was going out with her friends, and she had realized that they were a better fit for her than we were, and there was a reason that she had been originally born into their family and not ours, so now she would like to fix that. She told us never to contact her again because she wanted to give this a real shot and she wouldn't be able to if we kept trying to get in touch with her. She wanted to completely move on from her past and start a new life with her actual parents, and within the next couple of days, she had packed up her things and was gone. We didn't think about any legal recourse because it was pointless,

even though we could have done something about the fact that Elena's whereabouts had been revealed to her birth parents without consent. The bottom line was that she was gone now and we couldn't do anything about it. It was not until later on that we stalled her on social media, spoke to a couple of her old friends and then, we found out that her birth family was extremely rich and that's why she was with them right now. She was living the life that we had denied her in the name of discipline, she was partying every weekend, going off on trips with her close friends and just doing every irresponsible thing that we didn't think was good for her.

That was when we realized that we had pretty much just wasted 14 years of our life, raising Elena and trying to do our best as parents, when in reality, she was more interested in having money than us. It was really hurtful, but it was the truth, so we eventually had to come to terms with it. Almost eight years have passed since then and it was really hard for us, but we managed to make our peace with it and move on with our lives. That doesn't mean that we didn't miss her anymore all of a sudden, but we just knew that she didn't want us in our lives, and after what she had done, I think it was for the best that we stopped wishing for her to come back as well because things could never be fixed after this. And then, three years ago, my husband was diagnosed with liver cancer. I tried my best to help him survive, but unfortunately, after a while, the treatment stopped proving to be effective and about a week ago, we lost him.

Everyone knew him, knew that he had been suffering and I find it unlikely that Elena had absolutely no idea because she was in touch with a couple of friends from school and they definitely knew about my husband's disease, since their parents, and sometimes even her old friends had reached out to me to offer condolences and support. So I knew that Elena must have found out, but didn't bother to contact him. us, which was quite disappointing but, thankfully, I didn't have enough time to worry about it at the time. Anyway, a couple of days after he passed away, we organized his funeral and finally, Elena showed up after eight long years. Sadly enough, it was not for the purpose that you guys

think, she was only here to demand her share of the inheritance and not to pay her last respects. I was surprised that she had even shown up but my husband had thought about it. He had even planned for this particular scenario and had left her a letter. I will get to the contents of the letter in a while, but before that, I need to tell you guys exactly how she showed up at the funeral so you guys know how inappropriate and outrageous it was. She was wearing all black and stuff, that was not the problem. The problem was that she had brought along a lawyer with her to fight with me at the funeral because she thought that I was going to keep my husband's money and property for myself. When she came to talk to me and offered her condolences, I told her that I

would speak to her later because I knew that she was building up to something, but she told me that she had to discuss it with me right then. When I tried to explain to her that I was busy, she started throwing a tantrum, saying that she knew this was a tactic to distract her from the fact that there was going to be an inheritance and the least that I could do for her at this point was at least include her and whatever my husband had left behind. She was being really loud and annoying, so I decided to hand her that letter right then and there because that's what it had been left for. Now, coming to the contents of the letter, my husband had had the foresight to know that Elena would probably try to pull something like this off. So in the letter that he had left,

he had made it very clear that in his will, he had left every single penny to me and all his property was going to be left to me as well. And he hadn't mentioned any names, but he had said that anybody who had not been involved in his life in the past couple of years after he fell sick, no right to demand anything at all and he owed them absolutely nothing. She made her lawyer read that as well and he did not look happy since in addition to his will. This letter in his own handwriting also reinforced everything that has been decided in his official will. And I was pretty satisfied with their immediate reaction. You see, eight years had passed since Elena had left us to be with her family and a lot had changed in those years.

My husband and I had taken over a branch of his uncle's business when he decided to expand and start something in our city as well. So we were handling that and it was quite profitable. So we had made a lot of money. Granted, we had spent quite a lot of money on his treatment as well, but even then, we were left with quite a lot. Our lifestyle had improved quite a lot in the past couple of years and we had been living well.

And I guess Elena is like a bloodhound at this point. She can just sniff out who is money and come to them to demand her share. That's what she did with her biological. parents and now, she intended on doing that with us. Any lawyer worth his saw probably would have known that in Elena's situation, she had no right to be demanding anything from us, especially since she was 26 and for the past eight years, she has had absolutely no contact with us. I don't even know what that guy was thinking, coming along with her, but I knew that that letter had dashed all her hopes of getting anything

out of us. After reading the letter, a couple of times, she immediately started sobbing. and I don't mean the quiet kind of weeping while looking down at the floor, she literally started howling and threw herself onto me to give me a hug so she could cry on my shoulder. She started apologizing really loudly about everything that she had put us through in the past, saying that she had been ungrateful and that she had learned her lesson but now, all she wanted was to be there with me. She kept telling me how sorry she was that she hadn't visited in the past eight years and hadn't even bothered to speak to her father, even after finding out that he was sick.

She just kept apologizing for everything, but at that point, it was too little and much too late. Besides, I was disgusted by the fact that she had gone from throwing a tantrum for the sake of the inheritance to pretending to be sad about my husband's demise within a couple of seconds, as soon as she found out that we didn't want anything to do with her anymore. I felt like it was all an act that she was putting up, so she could mourn with me and show me how sorry she was so I would cut her some slack and take her back.

I didn't know exactly what was going on in her life, but I knew that she was in some sort of trouble, because otherwise, I didn't think she would come back here. Especially not with the purpose to demand her share of the inheritance, given that her biological parents were pretty well off. I had realized all these things why she had been reading together, so when she had been crying on my shoulder, I was so disgusted that I threw her off within a couple of seconds and she was shocked that I had shoved her. I then told her to stay away as loudly as I could, because, at that point, I really didn't care about my volume, I was so upset. I told her that I did not want her in my house anymore and that she was making a mockery out of my husband's funeral with her antics. I told her that this was not the place or the time for her to be putting up a show and that I wanted her to leave. She made the mistake of trying to tell me that she was here as family, so I literally laughed out loud, and I told her that families are usually formed by either relation of blood or by relations of love. And she had never been related to us by blood, but in the beginning, we had at least loved each other like a family does. But eight years ago, when she left to stay with her biological family and abandon us because we were not as well off as them, she cleared that misconception for us as well. So no, she was not our family at all and I wanted

her to go away. After I yelled at her, she finally left and people started trying to comfort me because I was obviously very upset. For the rest of the day, I just got the funeral over with and then, I was too emotionally and physically exhausted to think anything else so I just crashed. Then, when I woke up the next morning, I saw that I had several messages from an unrecognized phone number, and I'm assuming it was Elena. How she had been able to find my contact, I don't know, but anyway, I was right about her going through a tough spot. Apparently, after living with her biological family for four years, things started changing. They had been quite supportive of her lifestyle in the beginning, but after that, they started getting annoyed with her for spending way too

much money. And she, like a fool, refused to change her ways and even though she did get a job to keep them from complaining about how she was depending on them too much, she didn't really take it seriously and blew all her money on maintaining her extravagant lifestyle. So basically, it was her irresponsible and callous attitude that led to her falling out with her biological family as well. About four years ago, they finally told her that they couldn't support her anymore because it was clear that she was planning on mooching off of them for the rest of her life and they didn't think that it was fair because even though she had come back to spend time with them and build a relationship with them. She was so busy trying to show off for the world that she had

barely spent any actual time with them. So they wanted her to move out, get her own place and start living separately. They were open to her having a relationship with them, but it had to be for more than just the sake of money since they had started to feel like she was using them, which they were right about. She had a huge fight with them and moved out, but didn't contact them again, purely because of her overinflated ego. They didn't try to get back in touch with her either, and she knew that she couldn't come back to us after everything that had happened. She was too embarrassed and ashamed. So for the past four years, she had been trying to make it on her own, but it had been pretty difficult for her because the job market was tough and she hadn't even been to college.

Even when she found out about my husband's sickness, she had intended on reaching out to us. But then again, it was the fear of rejection that had stopped her. And for not getting back in touch with us, she was really sorry and said that she genuinely meant her apology for everything that she had put us through. But, she was also very disheartened. by the fact that I had told her that she was not our family on the day of the funeral. She told me that the lawyer that she had come with was actually one of her friends and he had suggested that he come along with her, so he could at least try to reason with me before they tried to contest the will because she was sure that she wouldn't have received anything after

everything that had happened. However, now, after she had spoken to me and been there for her dad's funeral, she didn't want any part of the inheritance anymore, but she just wanted me to forgive her and take back what I said about her not being my family. She also told me that the only reason she had even come by to demand part of the inheritance was because she actually wanted to put that money to good use and go to college, so she could get a degree and do something better with her life instead of the disappointing jobs that she had to stick to right now. Simply because she didn't have any other option.

But I really don't feel like forgiving her right now and yet, I feel like I would be a pretty bad person if I didn't. I have been holding out on making a decision for the past one week and now, I feel like it's time to make up my mind instead of going back and about this inside my own head constantly. So Wibta, if I refused to take back what I had said to my adoptive daughter, that she was not my family? Update 1, Hello, Reddit. First of all, I would like to thank everybody who took out the time from their day to comment on my post and give me advice, comment about their judgment and for all the condolences. I know that my husband is in a better place now and while I do miss him and think that if he

had been here, I would have found it much easier to deal with this dilemma, I also think that I need to respect his wishes as well. It was pretty clear to me that he didn't want anything to do with Elena anymore and I really don't want anything to do with her either. I had become quite emotional since she had returned so suddenly, and on top of that, I was also coping with the loss of my husband. So I wasn't thinking straight, but I don't think Elena deserves to be forgiven. Even when she showed up on the day of the funeral, it was an intention to demand her inheritance. She didn't show up because she cared for her so-called family. And with that in mind, I finally responded to her message and told her that I was not going to take anything back and neither was I going to forgive her.

She had dug her grave, and now she needed to lie in it. There was nobody who could fix this for her because the situation that she had created was just that nasty. I wished her the best for the future and then I told her never to speak to me or try to contact me again. Then, I blocked the number that she had texted me from. As for who had given her my contact info or my address, since my husband and I had moved away a couple of years ago, I don't know who did any of that, but when I find out, they will definitely pay for it.

Update 2, I just found out who it was who had told Elena where I live, and what my contact info is, and surprisingly, it was my mother. I didn't see that coming because she had no. about how terrible things have been with us, but she told me that Elena had said she wanted to come apologize to us. So she really had no idea that this is what she was going to do and she apologized to me, wholeheartedly for giving my personal information to Elena without asking. And I forgive her because honestly, she's getting up there and I'm sure her intentions were not bad. Had it been anybody else in her place though, I'm not sure I would have had the same opinions, but my mother is in her 70s now and

and I've already lost my husband. I don't want to get into a fight with her as well, especially when she was just a bit misguided, but didn't have any bad intentions. And she has apologized, so that's that. Update 3, Hello, Reddit. Six days ago, I had blocked Elena's number after sending her that message

and I really didn't think that she would try to get back in touch with me again. But she showed up to my house once again today and I refused to let her in, but she just kept sobbing right outside my door and kept telling me that she was really sorry about everything but she just needed to speak to me and I really had to give her a chance to explain herself. It was incredibly hard for me to deal with that kind of thing because I'm still grieving and I'm not in a very emotionally stable place right now. So I kept telling her to leave, that I couldn't deal with this at the moment and that I really needed some space, but she refused to go and kept telling me that she really

needed to talk to me. I would have called the cops under normal circumstances, but she was sobbing so hard that I couldn't find it in me to do it. It might sound strange, but even though she is a grown woman now, all I could hear was that little kid whom we had brought home who would cry at almost everything. So, I ended up opening the door to let her in. It took a few minutes to compose herself, but once she did, she immediately started apologizing to me for everything once again. So I had to cut her off and I told her that. The only reason I had brought her in so she could stop crying and I could tell her that was not enough place to process or accept her apology right now. A lot has happened and everything has changed, so accepting her back into my life is not going to be a

piece of cake. And she needed to realize that whatever had happened in the past eight years, I couldn't just forget it because she had apologized for it. So she really needed to give me my space, especially when I was already dealing with something so big right now, the loss of my husband. That man was the love of my life and he's gone now, and I need to cope with my emotions regarding that first and only then can I even think about her. I explained that to her as politely as I could, and after a few minutes of silence, she told me that she understood and that she would be waiting for me to contact her. She scribbled her contact info on a notepad and told me that she was going to leave me alone now, that she was still very sorry about everything and she was even sorry about

behaving like that, and then she finally left. I don't know if I'm going to be using that contact info to get in touch with her anytime soon, but I'm glad that both of us got the closure that we kind of need, so I really don't regret inviting her in so I could speak to her and get this out of the way. Update 4. Hi, Reddit. Five months have passed since I lost my husband and slowly, but surely, I've been trying to get my life back to normal. Although, I'm not sure what normal means anymore because for me, a normal life always included my husband's comforting presence. Now that he's not here, I'm just getting used to doing everything that I used to do before,

just without him. It's nice that I have my work, his uncle's business, to handle here since he and I used to work together. I have to do it all on my own now, so at least that keeps me occupied. The rest of the time I have, I try to fill it by keeping in touch with my family and friends, but most of the time, I just stick to television and books. It hasn't been easy, but I'm getting used to it now. Now, the million dollar question, did I reach out to Elena?

Or did she reach out to me? Well, for better or for worse, I haven't reached out to her yet, and she has respected whatever I had said to her during our last waiting and hasn't reached out to me either. So we are sticking to our no contact agreement at the moment. Maybe someday in the future, we will be able to figure it out and I'll be able to forgive her. But right now, I'm not in the place to do that and that's okay. I just want to focus on my own life. I hope you enjoy this story.

Spouse of two decades betrayed me with another person, and I discovered their intimate images and upcoming intentions, leaving me shattered. I am 48 years old and have been in a marriage for two decades. Years in January. A little history, I come from a broken, violent, alcoholic childhood. Trust is key to me and structure, safety, and providing our paramount to my existence. I met my wife when we were working in a restaurant. I was a manager and she was an employee, five years younger than me. She lost her parents to a car accident as a toddler and was raised by her uncle.

She has huge abandonment issues. is extremely emotional and can be violently rageful in certain situations. She is mostly kind and loving, and the support and dedication I have shown her over the last 20 years has helped to quiet her soul and rage. When we first started working together I found her very attractive, but I did not pursue anything because I was her manager. I had a part-time gig bartending and she used to come down to the bar to see me and flirt. I didn't encourage her behavior, but I was always nice in turning her about.

about a month into her coming down to visit she came in one night, walked right up to me, jumped into my arms, and started making out with me. This time I didn't turn her away, I mean, who would? Here was a striking, young, full of energy girl who obviously was extremely attracted to me. I had just ended a five-year marriage that was a huge mistake, and I had a young daughter. I was just getting back out on the scene, was fit, and enjoying the company of several women. Who was I to pass up on someone like this? We spent that night together and I told her the next day that she would have to quit her job at the restaurant if she wanted us to continue seeing each other.

She put in her notice that day. We were together pretty much every day after that. She basically moved in with me, and we went and got all her things from where she was staying a week later. I stopped seeing anyone else and even had to turn one of the other girls down when that girl came into my work and told me she knew. needed to F. I told her I couldn't because I was in a relationship, and the girl said, No one will know. I told her I would, and she left. My current wife and I had some small disagreements early on, and there was a lot of the dating games that young people play going on. I felt I was too old for all of that crap, and one night, after she had decided to stay out with

her friends, instead of coming home with me, I went to her apartment, packed all of her crap, and placed it all on the doorstep. I sat on the couch and waited for her to come home. I saw the headlights from her friend's car as they dropped her off, and I watched through the peephole as she walked up to the doorstep. She stood there, frozen, looking at all of her suitcases standing before her. I opened the door, saw the tears streaming down her face, and said the following, I am too old for these games.

I am here, right now, in front of you and you need to make a choice. You have to love my daughter, and take care of me and I will always take care of you. If you can do that, then grab your things and come inside. She came in and we have been together ever since. During the first few years of our marriage, I was clearly not ready to be the man I am today. I racked up two DUIs and I cheated on her four or five times. She never knew about the infidelities, and after the last DUI she told me I love you more than anything, but I can't do this. If you ever get another DUI I will have to leave you. That was the end of all

the drinking and extramarital stuff for me. I was 100% dedicated after that. I spent the next 20 years building my career. I took jobs all throughout the state, and we had to move an hour and a half away from our hometown for a job. My wife just couldn't do it. We had a baby by then, and she felt too isolated, so I moved her back to town and started commuting to work. For seven years. It was rough, but I did it to provide for my family and so I got through it. Eventually a spot came open in our hometown with my company and I took it. Later, I was grabbed up by a private owner to run his businesses, and finally another private

group brought me on and gave me an ownership slice to run their units. After 15 years together I had reached the pinnacle in my business life, my family was doing well, and I was making more money than I ever had. My wife wanted to go back to school to further her education, and I was at work so much that I thought it was fine. Work became pretty toxic at work, and that environment began to grind me down. I began to close off and internalize, and my relationship with my wife really suffered. We were rarely intimate, only having segs a few times a year, and she has an overactive libido. I was depressed and unapproachable, and really I was just dying inside.

My wife started asking to go hang out with some of our friends while I was at work. I didn't like it, but at that point I was dead inside and just said okay to whatever she wanted to do. It was easier for her to be gone than to face her disappointment with me when I got home from a soul-crushing work environment. Her outings became more and more frequent, but I was okay with it because she was spending time with people I had been friends with for 20 years. I completely trusted everyone in the circle that she was hanging out with. I know, I'm an idiot. About a year ago I started to realize that this work environment was not going to work for me anymore. I was constantly at odds with the partners, and we were not even on speaking terms anymore.

I started to look back at my life and what I saw was that I had shut out of my own. everything that I had ever valued about myself. I had turned myself into a soulless ATM to provide comfort and stability for my family. I was barren of emotion. Don't get me wrong, there were great times as a family during those two decades, but as a person I was empty. I decided that after my wife completed her education I was going to look for another way to make money, and I was going to try and recapture some of myself. It was during this exact time when my wife decided she would try a new life on for herself. One of the guys in the group, someone I had been friends with for 20 years, decided to hold her hand on one of those group outings, and that started a year-long

emotional affair. During that time I could feel some discomfort in the back of my head when she went out with our friends, but I was so dead inside that I just ignored it. I didn't want to face any more pain or discomfort at the time. We went on through the beginning of this year, and I noticed that my wife was becoming more aloof and distant, but I was still in no place to address her behavior emotionally. Then COVID hit. We were sequestered and locked down for months, and she later told me that she felt this would be the time that she and I could reconnect and revitalize our marriage. Unfortunately, I was still in the process of shedding that work life and I was unable to bridge the gap initially. We started lockdown in April, and by June she had decided that she was going to leave me when she completed.

her program. Of course, I had no idea. During quarantine I didn't have work, so there were more opportunities for me to start seeing my friends again. My wife and I were invited to a wedding that one of the guys in a group was having and it was the first time in over a year that I was going to be able to see them all. I was super excited and I had a great time, but my wife's AP was forced to face what he was doing when I showed up. He started to cut off their interaction, and after a second gathering during the same month, he basically cut it all the way off. So now my wife of 19 years is facing multiple decisions. Her program was almost complete, her marriage to me was over,

and the relationship she hoped to carry on after she left me was finished as well. She still didn't have the courage to tell me she was leaving because she needed my support to get past the finish line, but she had to start planting seeds for how her new life would develop. Three weeks before she was to take her boards and get her license she brought up the idea of taking a job at the coast two hours away. She said it was because there were no jobs in town, she would make a lot of money at the coast, and she could start working right away. She then said she had an interview the next day. I, of course, did not agree, and it was during that discussion slash argument that I felt we were no longer having a conversation about my wife working at the coast, but that we were discussing her leaving me. I confronted her about what she was really talking about, but she wasn't ready to pull the trigger.

I told her that I loved her more than anything, but that I wouldn't beg her to stay. I told her that she wasn't responsible for me, and she didn't need to feel guilty because I had taken care of them for the last 20 years. I just want to know what you are going to do so I can start putting my life back together. It took me a minute to get my wits about me, and then the investigation began. I got into her computer and found archived drafts of letters she had written AP over the last year. I scoured all of the avenues in her computer and discovered she had stopped sinking all of her devices the previous year. I started piecing things together, and then I found AP's name. At first, I was shocked, but a second later I thought, of course it was him. I set up counseling for us,

but it had to be through Zoom because of COVID. I had said, sent everything I found and how I felt to our counselor. We had seen her, off and on, for about 15 years, and she is really the reason my wife and I had lasted as long as we did. On the day of my wife's appointment I was out driving around, having a mental breakdown. I was driving through the foothills outside of town screaming and howling at the top of my lungs. I felt guilty about pushing her away and I was taking responsibility for the end of our marriage. I felt like it was me who had violated her, and I wanted to die. I wanted to point my truck at a brick wall and drive into it at 100 miles per hour. Just as I was calming down and heading back

home my wife called me. I didn't answer because I couldn't talk. Well, during their session our counselor used AP's name and my wife freaked out. My wife hadn't told anyone about the affair, and she couldn't figure out how our counselor knew. She went and opened my iPad and found the evidence I had scraped from her computer. My wife was frantically calling me to see where I was because... Get this. She was afraid for AP. My wife asks if I have confronted AP and I say no.

She is horrified at the prospect of me contacting him saying it wasn't his fault and he doesn't deserve this. What she forgets is that AP and I have been good friends for 20. years, and his violation is just as much a betrayal as hers. This conversation follows the arch that many of the following ones where we settle, we talk, and then we resolve to continue trying with each other. We start going to counseling separately, and our therapist lets it be known that my wife will have a long road getting over this love that she had for AP. As I was not emotionally available for my wife for so many years.

The therapist says that the affair, though only an emotional one, was strong and will be difficult for my wife to let go of for some time. It is gutting to hear this, but I know that I contributed to putting my wife in this mindset. It didn't matter that I had worked my crap off for 20 years, slept in cars and bathed in mop sinks to provide for my family. What mattered was that my wife was left, for all intents and purposes, alone in our marriage. I felt tremendous guilt for that. As we progressed in counseling, I obviously struggled with trust. I tried to manage my desire to go through all of her devices and find everything.

I wanted to know if they were still communicating, and I didn't believe that they had not been physical. It shouldn't have mattered because trust was broken either way, but it nodded me. I started watching videos and reading books about infidelity and most of them stated that the cheater was most often expected to provide access to all of their devices and communications if they truly desire to reestablish trust. I hated the idea of asking for that access, but I wanted it too. I just avoided the situation for the time being. At this point I was very weak emotionally. I was terrified that I was going to lose my wife of 20 years, and I felt no power to ask or demand anything from her. It was as if I had betrayed her after 20 years.

I was walking on eggshells in our communication. We did reconnect physically, getting after it sometimes through. three or four times a day. We had more SEGs in the first two weeks after I discovered her infidelity than we had in the last five years. It was amazing. The times in between our intimacy were excruciating. After a couple weeks I could not shake the need to contact AP, so I did. I sent him a text letting him know that I had discovered he had an affair with my wife. I explained to him that I had placed her in a terrible situation in our marriage and that I understood how it happened. I told him that I wanted to talk it out with him so that the three of us could

move on. Because we all shared a very close-knit set of friends and I didn't want it to be awkward forever. The next day, as I was driving to work, my wife sent me a text asking if I had contacted AP. I lied and said no and she immediately responded, don't lie to me. I would later learn that AP was no longer responding to her messages. Their preferred app to communicate was Snapchat, and he left her messages unattended. She deduced that I had contacted AP and he was spooked. I fessed up that I had indeed contacted him, but I told her that the text was less about her and more about the long relationship that I had with AP. I wanted to try and salvage what I could for the three of us. Wife was furious, of course, and immediately left our house to meet with AP

at his home. I was an hour away for work and immediately set off for home. Wife was at AP's house for under five minutes before heading home. I called her, but she responded that she needed a minute. Later learned that she needed a minute because she was messaging him and he was not responding. When she got home she called and we talked until I got home, and then for an hour after before making love and falling asleep. She asked me not to contact AP anymore unless he requested and I agreed. I was still a fragile little shell inside.

This could not feel worse. We spent our days together, carefully watching each other, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Every move, every phrase, every turn of the eye took on its own significance and signaled something that had to be deciphered. It was exhausting. We started taking trips away from town, and when we were away the shadows of AP seemed less looming. We worked on rebuilding this marriage that we had lived for 20 years, but there was always this whisper in the back of my mind. For weeks into the rehabilitation we were shopping at a Lowe's,

and as we were talking an alert popped up on her phone. Wife looks at phone, and then turns away to enter code. Devastated. I knew that she was still hiding things. I felt like this would never be over. Because I didn't think things would end unless I did something. I contacted AP again and arranged a meeting, which he agreed to. I didn't tell why. until the day of the meeting, and 30 minutes before heading over I told her that AP had asked to meet. The light and loving face that she had been carrying daily turned to a nasty scowl. She told me I won't be here when you get back. I was thrown back, and I almost said I wouldn't go, but I told her I needed for this piece to be done.

What are you guys going to do? Talk about what a piece of crap I am. I told her, again, that it was about my relationship with AP, and not. just about her. I left and met AP at a restaurant. We took some shots and got right into it. He explained how he had just gotten out of a terrible relationship and that the attention wife provided him helped his depression. He said he let it go too far, and I said, yeah, the bears she sent you and the digital flirting were too far. His gaze fell to the floor and he acknowledged it was wrong. We talked for about an hour, and then I headed home.

wife wasn't there when I got home. She was driving around town, probably blowing off some steam, and was drunk, so I went to bed. She got home around 1 a.m. She had stopped by a couple's house that we were friends with and had gotten a call for a ride from our daughter. She woke me up when she got home and asked what was said during my meeting with AP. I told her again that it had not been about her, but that we were talking about how it happened, and how we should proceed together. We talked for a while, made love again, and went to sleep.

At this point the ping-pong effect of being blissfully physical and emotionally betrayed was wearing on me. During one of my sessions the therapist had emphasized that there should be no communication between AP and wife. Therapist explained that wife would never get past the affair with continued contact. I agreed. Therapist also said that wife should allow access to all devices to reassure me and that that she should be trying to build trust instead of me doing all of the heavy lifting. When I mentioned it to my wife, she said, I will give you the code if you want it. That was not the response I wanted from her.

I wanted her to just turn her phone over to me and tell me the code. She was bluffing, and I knew it, but I didn't call. Still so weak. During the next therapy session my counselor told me that I was being a doormat, and that I needed to set some firm parameters. She told me that at this point I was tramping myself for emotional love for my wife, and if I didn't stop we would never make it long term. She told me that wife should block AP on all social media and give me full access.

I told her I would bring it up with wife. Wife and I headed out of town for her job at the coast and as we were discussing where to eat, I told her to find somewhere quiet so we could talk. I had been riding my bike over with her, and we would stay at a hotel for a couple of nights together before I headed back home for work on Wednesday. This was the third week we had done it, and I wanted to get the boundaries established before I headed home. We had discussed her blocking AP the day before and she had agreed. I was going to let her know I wanted access to all of her stuff at dinner and make sure that

she had deleted slash blocked him on all her social media. I mockishly brought up the conversation I had with the therapist and laid out the list of boundaries. I was so afraid to ruin the good times that we were sharing that I had a hard time bringing this stuff up, and I never did when we were arguing because I didn't want to become rageful, say something terrible, and ruin everything. I was a mess. Wife was apprehensive about the code to her phone, but ultimately gave it to me. She also agreed to the boundaries, and I felt like we had made real progress. Then I asked her, did you delete AP from Snapchat?

She responded, I unfriended him. I told her that wasn't the same thing, and she said I did whatever it is so he doesn't appear on the app. I should have asked to see her phone, but I knew she was lying, and I didn't want to F up the whole night. We finished dinner and headed back to the hotel. I resolved in my mind what I was going to do that night.

I hadn't slept through the night in over a month, and I knew that I would wake up in the middle of the night. I was going to take her phone into the bathroom and go through everything, and when I found all of the lies I was going to hop on my bike, head home and on to the rest of my life. Wife had to work early so we turned in around 9 p.m. I had pre-packed all of my stuff knowing that I would most likely be leaving in the middle of the night. Wife just thought I was packing to leave the next day anyway, so there were no red flags for her. I woke up around 3 in the morning, walked over to her side of the bed, grabbed her phone off the

charger and walked into the bathroom. I opened the phone and selected the Snapchat app. I had Google searched how to find friends in the app to see if she had deleted him, but I didn't need to because as soon as the app opened there was an alert of a message from AP. I opened the message and saw that they had been messaging all through the night. I wasn't even sad anymore. Not mad. Not hurt. Just disappointed. I then went through her entire phone, taking pictures of all the messages, all the picks she sent him. All the text to her one friend that she had confided in, and when I felt like I had everything I returned the phone to the stand,

got dressed, and hit the road. She woke up around 7 a.m. and sent me a text asking where I was. I just replied with a screenshot of her message to AP the previous evening. All of a sudden wife was in a panic. All of the stoic strength she had presented the previous ten weeks vanished, and she started begging for another chance. She apologized for betraying me, and she promised she would delete the app

and allow me access to everything. She told me that she only ever loved me and that she would do anything to keep us together. I told her that we would talk when she got back home on Friday. That was six weeks ago. She did delete the app, and things had been going relatively well for us.

This is an opportunity for us to have the marriage that the both of us had always intended. I still have these lingering doubts, and I still find myself peering over her shoulder when she is on her phone. When I walk into the room I watch to see if she is swiping out of some secret messaging app. I confronted AP that day I'd found her messaging him and basically told him to F off and that he was ruining our marriage with continued communication. He ghosted her, but not before he made some belittling remarks about her saying that he was doing his best to respond in a short and concise manner hoping that eventually it would stop.

During a later conversation with wife I showed her that text and she was devastated. It was gross to see her disappointment, but at the same time it was cathartic. Hopefully she would better be able to move on. My question now is, does anyone think we can get through this? My doubts linger, but soften as time goes on. I struggle with thinking how they were communicating with each other while I was laying next to her, or while we were on family vacations. I don't think she would ever do this again, but I am not sure that she won't wake up and just want to leave. I don't know that I might not do

the same. All I want is for us to move on into our twilight years together, but I wonder if we will be able to do it. I hope you enjoy this story. Spouse began requesting genetic examinations following his pal's spouse strayed. However, I later discovered he was actually betrothed to an expectant lady who mistook me for his former partner. Greetings. Everyone. I 34F have been with Ken not his real name 37M since I was 16. We met in school as he was my brother's friend. We have been married for 10 years. Have a two-year-old son and one on the way. Ken has always been my person. The person who you can't picture life without and I honestly can't remember not loving him. I grew up with him, he's my everything.

Unfortunately, Ken has this issue where he takes on everyone else's feelings like to heart. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, however recently his best friend of 20 years has just found out that his wife has been cheating on him and none of the children are his. Obviously his friend is devastated and is staying in our guest room. He's a nice guy just life has him down right now. He started the process of divorce. The more time Ken spends with his family Ken spends with his family. friend the more depressed he's become and distant. Our mornings used to start where I would wake up

at 6 a.m. with our son make breakfast then about 8 a.m. I could wake Ken up with a coffee and some breakfast before going to drop little one off at nursery and go to work. Ken works from home most days only going into the office on a Monday. So I'd give him his coffee he'd give me a kiss and then I'd go off on my happy little way. Then I'd finish work, get our son and go home where Ken would be making tea. I'd clear. clean up after whilst he was bathing our son and putting him to bed. I thought this was life, it might sound boring to some, but it was my life and I loved it. Our house was filled with love.

We would spend our nights cuddling, talking watching a movie. Date night once a month. We would take our son out together on a Saturday and then Sunday go visit family or have friends over. You get the picture I'm rambling. Sorry. Anyway, for the past month things have been. changing. Ken is more depressed. I make him a coffee in the morning and just get a mumble, thanks. I'd come home from work and the friend and him would be in the living room watching sports.

I'm now making tea. Bathing our son, neither of them will barely talk to me. We don't go out on the weekends together I feel like a single parent. I've tried to talk to Ken about it all, but I get one-worded answers. Then he stays up till about 1 a.m., which I know it's not super late. but I'm passed out by then, I'm exhausted, alone and pregnant. I miss my husband. Yesterday I came home from work and you know when something just doesn't feel right? Well, I went to find Ken to see what he was doing as his friend wasn't in the house but Ken's car was. He was in his office looking up DNA kits for our son.

I asked him why in his response was, well, I just want to make sure all the kids are mine before I continue looking after them as I'm not a free child care. This broke me. When I say I'm devastated, it's an understatement. But if he thinks that I've cheated on him, then surely the trust is gone. Is there any going back? Am I just being pregnant and hormonal? Would I be extreme for looking for a divorce?

I could put the papers in the envelope with the results from the DNA test. I think I'm going to go cry in bed now. Had to take the day off work as I feel like I've just been gut-punched. Update 1. Hello Reddit. well after my post earlier this afternoon I cried then read all your lovely comments and I couldn't be more grateful. I think posting about it here really helps for some reason. Weird how telling complete strangers that I'm struggling with life seems to help. So I think after my pity party which couldn't last long due to being a parent I called my stepmom and dad. My mom died when I was 10,

they are coming to stay with me on Friday. Crying on the phone helped although I'm not really sure they could truly understand a word of what I was saying. I've spoken to Ken, well more like spoke at Ken telling him that his friend is till Thursday to leave. I'm not a monster and can't just tell him to leave at the drop of a hat. I've also told Ken he needs to leave too. Whilst yes I could go to my dad's house I don't want to disrupt my little one more than needed and all the things for my baby is here too. Especially as I'm eight months along it just seems stupid for me to be the one to leave.

I've made it a point of not pointing out it's my house either. I'm trying to be calm and sensible. I'm not 100% sure Ken listened, but I did message his sister who is a force to be reckoned with, and she said she will make sure he's gone by Thursday night. Things I've told Ken I want is yes, he can have the DNA test, but I will be damned if I'm the one to do it. He can also have one for the baby as I ain't got shit to hide. I know that some people have questioned why I'm so against it. Let me make something clear.

I would never cheat because, as I said in my last post, Ken is slash or was I to know, my person. He's the only man I've ever been with. So that isn't any concern of mine. I'm just hurt that he wants one because clearly he doesn't trust me. So things I want. I want him to have the DNA tests mainly so I can make him eat the results. Not literally I'm just venting. I'm also going to suggest couples there.

I already see one due to losing my mom and my little sister in a car crash when I was little. I want to suggest he sees one alone, but you can lead a horse to water but can't make him drink it. I don't want to force him to do anything he doesn't want to do. I want him to maintain contact with our son. Yes, he doesn't believe he's the father right now, but that's no reason he should neglect him as he's his and I don't want to upset my son. Yeah, he's only two, but still he deserves all the love from both his parents. He's done nothing wrong. Then obviously this one when he or she comes along.

Still not sure about the state of my marriage, but even if divorce is what happens, I need to be able to get through to him so he can be the father he was. Am I going insane? Do I sound insane? I don't know why writing here helps so much. Thanks Reddit. Update 2 Hello again. Following my two other posts I will answer some questions.

Yes, it is my house. It was left to me when my mom died. I have lived here all my life. I didn't move out because I have a child and one on the way, so why should I be the one to leave? I get that some people believe I was the awe for asking him to leave, but as I was heavily pregnant, have a toddler and it's my house I wasn't about to leave. Yes, he could have stayed living with someone who just wants to argue or just not talk. I prefer my child not to live in that environment.

Thank you. At the end of the day I'm a mother first and a wife second. If you think that's harsh, then I don't know what to tell you. My children come first end of. Well, Ken's friend did leave the day I told him he had till Thursday. He wasn't happy about it and shouted some insults at me, which was amazing. Ken's sister came and picked up Ken. I wish I could tell you what she said, but she didn't say anything in front of me just kept giving Ken death stares. We did get the DNA for little one and Ken is the father, obviously. Ken somehow thinks I've intercepted the results even though I wasn't the one that did it. I wasn't the one that got handed the results X, so he's clearly lost his mind.

My dad came over and whilst I was making tea my waters broke. My little girl is he or she healthy and happy. She was nine pounds at ounces so no concern of anything with her. I'm now a mum of two. I am home now and Ken has been to see his baby girl although as she's not had a DNA test he disagrees with her being his because his family doesn't have many girls yet he has a sister so I just rolled my eyes. I don't really know where to go from here. Ken is refusing therapy, he says there's nothing wrong with him or his brain.

I beg to differ. He wants to get another DNA test for our boy but won't tell me when or where so I can't interfere. Maybe one day he will come to his senses. My dad and stepmom are staying with me for a while to help me with the baby. I'd like to say I'm okay, but honestly my emotions are all over the show. I don't know which was his up. Ken's sister visits the babies and we have an unspoken rule that we don't speak about Ken apart from when our son asks about him. I wish it was the kind of update where he got the results seen how much of an idiot he's been and we move on, but sadly that's not the case.

I can't dwell on it too much, just take shit one day at a time. I do miss my person and worry that he's missing out on his baby girl's life already, which if I think about too much I will just sit and cry but I don't have time for that. As always thanks for listening to me rant. I might update if anything else happens in my life. Right now I'm still left wondering if I'm doing the right thing here. Is there anything I could do differently? Why are my kids so hard for him to accept all of a sudden? Update 3. Hello again, Reddit. Things have been bizarre but now I have closure. I know what's happened to my marriage. I know what scum Ken really is.

He's not my person and never truly was. So now I just want to divorce him, cut my loses and move on with my life. I'm still at home with my babies settling into motherhood. My dad and stepmom are still here, but they will be leaving soon once I'm more emotionally stable. To say I'm okay would be a lie, but I now know what I need to do. I have some sort of closure with Ken. I know what happened with him and I know that it's not my heart. It's my fault. Turns out Ken was having an affair and has a baby on the way.

Even typing that makes me want to throw up. I found this out when a visibly pregnant lady just knocked on my door and asked me when I would be leaving the house as it's Ken's house. When I say this confused the crap out of me, I mean it. I talked to this woman for a while to try to work out what she was talking about. It turns out that she's Ken's side piece. Well, technically in her head she's his fiancé. A month ago Ken got down on one knee and proposed to her in my fucking kitchen, classy, right? So they have been seeing each other for a while. She's having his baby.

She believes I'm the ex-wife who Ken is letting him stay in his house till I get on my feet. We apparently broke up a few years ago and none of my kids are Ken's. When I go to work in the mornings Ken goes to her house and works from there. They were waiting for marriage to move and together. How you trying to marry someone when you are already married? Fucking weirdo. I asked for proof of all this. She has pictures of them together. Apparently she has a of account that they make content together.

I told her we are still married and explained everything to her. I'm not sure what she's going to do. But hey, not my circus, not my monkey. Now I want a divorce. Is it true that once you talk to a solicitor about divorce they can't? represent the person you divorce? I want to go around our town and meet with as many solicitors as possible as the first hour is free so that he has a very hard time getting representation. Is that too petty? The house is in my name only and is protected so there is

no way he can take it. I have all my money and we do have a joint account but that's just what we put our share of household bills in. I haven't spoken directly with Ken. His family have completely cut him off and he's been kicked out of his sister's house. All those people that was concerned about him having tumor or something wrong with his brain, I really don't think that's the case. I think his actions just caught up to him as his lies were going to come out once his baby was born. I think that's what happened. He got backed into a corner and tried to fight his way out. Through divorce process, I will get the court to do DNA testing so he is proof for both.

Even if he chooses to not believe it. I'm mentally exhausted from all of this and sat wondering how I didn't know him. might have to go for an I-test. But honestly, would I be so wrong for just making his life as difficult as possible to get legal advice or is that too far? I want him to suffer. Update December 4th 1st, 2024. Well, hello there again, Reddit.

I'm okay. I totally just forgot about my ramblings on here, L.O.L. I'm doing okay. I'm officially divorced from Ken. It took a long time to do that. to get to this part of my life and some points I actually felt like I was drowning. Both of my kids had a DNA test through the courts and they are Ken's. He still doesn't believe it.

Not my problem though. Ken is now in prison for domestic abuse. I'm not 100% on the details because I wasn't involved. It was his side piece. I'd love to say that sometimes I don't break down in tears and I'm completely over it. I'm not. I've now gone back to work though after my maternity leave was finished. I got a promotion. And now I'm used to living with just us three. My kids keep me going and I'm so proud of them. They go visit their grandparents and dad's side of the family and they have been so lovely and supportive.

His sister is still amazing. I don't really know what else to say. Just I'm okay. I'm divorced and my children are thriving. I can't thank Ken for a lot of things, but I'm grateful for my children. Next story, 18-year-old niece announced her engagement to a 36-year-old man who started dating her when she was 17. When I called him a predator, my entire family said I was jealous. I, 33M, have a pretty big age difference with my brother, 44M. He had a child at 25, which means that I became an uncle at 14. Because we were pretty close in age, I formed a special bond. with my niece, Ella, now 18F. When she was 16, my brother and his family moved away so I've been

seeing them less recently. But we keep in touch and catch up at family events. Last year, at Christmas, my niece told me that she had a boyfriend and told me a bit about him, but I didn't know the guy. He was invited for Easter and a couple of other events, but was never able to make it. When we were planning our mother's birthday, my brother decided to invite Ella's boyfriend so that we could all meet him. Yesterday was the birthday. I was looking forward to meeting Mark, Ella's boyfriend, but was very confused when I saw her walk in with a man that looked double her age, spoiler alert, he is. She introduced him to me, and I politely smiled but was deep down very concerned. I went to my brother to ask how old Mark was and he told me that Mark is 36, so literally double

Ella's age. She had told me that he was a bit older but I assumed like early to mid-20s. not almost 40. That's when they called us in the living room to share exciting news. Ella showed us a ring and revealed that they were engaged. I just said what the fuck and everyone turned around and looked at me like I was crazy. I told them that they were out of their minds that they thought this was normal, that there was no world in which a 30-something should date in 18 years old, and that she shouldn't be getting married. All of them accused me of ruining Ella's happiness. Some even said that I was jealous of Mark. which is so fucking disgusting I can't even explain it.

I mean, I'm younger than Mark, but never in a million years would I ever consider dating someone younger than 25. They told me that it was perfectly legal as they were both adults, which isn't true because they'd been dating for a year and Ella turned 18 seven months ago, and that if they were happy that's all that matters. I told them that they were sick for allowing this and that he was a predator but they wouldn't listen. I know this isn't my business, but I can't help but fear for Ella. She is young and doesn't really know what she's getting into. I'm really scared of her getting married and being unable to leave him when she realizes how sick it was. I then left and slammed the door and have been receiving pretty wild messages and calls since then. I don't know if I was

wrong for this and I'm just overreacting, and if I wasn't wrong I don't know what I can do to make them realize how wrong it is. Ada Update 1, November 9, 2024. I've taken the past 24 hours to really reflect on all of this. I tried to take in most of the advice in the comments, and here's what I have decided. I don't think that me telling her and everyone that the relationship is weird was wrong, I do however think that I did it wrong and it was pretty harsh because it was in the heat of the moment. But I still find this very creepy and don't think she should get married. What I've decided to do is, one, apologize to her. I sent her a text

saying I was sorry for my outburst and that I should have thought it through beforehand. I told her that I never wanted to make her feel like I didn't want her to be happy, and that I loved her very much and had her best interests in mind. Two, ask her if we could talk about this. I asked if she would be okay and free to hang out and maybe get coffee this week to talk about all of this with a clear head. I really want to try and get her to see why it's weird and that maybe marrying him is not a great choice.

3. Explain myself to my brother. I sent him a text saying that I was sorry for the way I said it, but that I still thought that it needed to be said. I explained to him why I think Mark is a predator and this relationship could have a very negative and damaging impact on Ella. I'm still waiting on their replies. I'll update when they reply, or when I see Ella, if she accepts, depending on how long it would take. In the meantime, I really want to thank everyone who gave me advice and was constructive, and really tried to help my niece out of this situation. I also send my best to all of the people in the comments sharing similar stories when they were the teenager getting groomed.

I'm so sorry this happened to you and I really hope you're doing better now. Update 2, November 12, 2024. So, following my text, see last post, Ella replied and told me she agreed to meet with me and talk. I just came back from seeing her. Here's how it went. She asked me what I wanted to tell her and I started explaining that I didn't think her relationship was very healthy, and that no older guy should want to date a teenager. I told her that she was an incredible woman, so I wasn't saying it was weird that someone would want to marry her, but that guy's my age normally shouldn't even look at a teenager. She wasn't convinced and said that sometimes it's true, but sometimes it's okay. I asked her how she would feel if I told her that someone born today could be her future partner, and she said it felt really weird. I also asked her if she would consider dating someone younger than 15, and she said no.

I could see her starting to realize that Mark maybe didn't have the best intentions. I also asked her if she knew about his previous relationship, and she said vaguely and just told me the girl's name. I asked her if she knew how old the girl was and she said she was 21. I also asked her if she knew that their relationships overlapped and she said that Mark always told her he was single since they met, but she kind of felt like that wasn't true. I told her that since his previous girlfriend was also significantly younger, it seemed like he had a thing for younger girls, which is kind of weird. After discussing that, she told me a bit more about her relationship. She told me she was starting to feel weird about it because of Mark's recent behavior. I asked what she meant and she said that he had been flirting with a lot of girls, who were all also younger, including some of Ella's friends.

When she confronted him, he sort of gaslit her into thinking it wasn't flirting. He was also making a lot of comments about having children with Ella and how cute it would be to see her raise them. She told me she was absolutely not ready for that and also wanted to go to college and work and not be a song. Because of all of that she was doubting her relationship and I told her that I understood. She said she was scared of breaking up with him because he had become her whole life recently and she didn't know what she would do without him. I told her that she was surrounded by people who loved her and would be there for her and that she was a lot more than just Mark's girl. I said that she knew my opinion on it, but that ultimately the choice was hers, and that I just wanted her to be happy. I also said I would be there for her no matter what. She told me that she

will try to break up with him this week, and she'll let me know how it goes. I'll edit this post if I have more info. Also, again, thank you to everyone who gave advice and tried to help us. I really appreciate it. Edit. Okay, so I just want to say, Some people in the comments seem to think that this is fake, and you know what, I can understand. And I don't really care, I'm not asking you to believe that my life is real or fake, and it's great that you don't just believe everything you see online. But I just want to say this. There are hundreds of people on here or elsewhere that share similar stories.

I'm not really affected by people thinking I'm lying, mainly because I'm not the one in that situation. But some people might be. Some people come on here to share something that might have traumatized them, and the last thing they want is for others to think they're lying. So if you don't want to believe me that's fine, but the next time keep that to yourself. It's fine to not believe something, but you don't have to say it, because it might make other people feel really bad. Additional info, loop clarifies details regarding the BF's previous relationship prior to current one with Ella. To explain this in more details, I went through the guys' socials with my friends a few days ago because we thought there might be other weird things going on and we ended up finding info about his previous relationship, the one right before Ella.

So Ella told me at Christmas, so December 24th, that they had been dating for a few months, but when we searched his Facebook we saw a post wishing happy birthday to a girl who he called his baby on December 12th. And this girl appeared in other posts where they were kissing or he was calling her pet name so we assumed she was his GF. Which Ella confirmed afterwards. And this girl also looked very young. He at one point wrote something about her and said as soon as you're done with college, so we knew she was in college. And she looked between 20 and 25. And Ella then confirmed that she was 21. But yeah, basically it seemed like he was still with his ex while dating Ella.

So I asked her if she knew about that. Oop should be prepared to support his niece if she chooses to break up with her BF and distance himself from the family if they are blaming Oop for Ella's breaks up. Yeah, I'm pretty sure if she ends up breaking up with him, which I hope, her dad will blame me for it. Which is the last thing she'll need if she manages to get out of that relationship. I will gladly take the blame, but I'm just scared she'll feel guilty about it and blame herself if she sees that her dad is mad at me. She's a very empathetic kid, which is a really great quality, but sometimes she hurts herself because of it. I hope you enjoy this story. Following 21 years without any knowledge of my biological parents, I finally encountered them.

However, my grandmother attempted to impede our gathering. I have consistently been a joyful individual, for which I am grateful. To my parents, Robert and Michelle. From bedtime stories to family dinners, I grew up surrounded by their love and support. I was about to turn 21 last week. My parents decided to make it special by throwing a surprise birthday party for me. They gifted me tickets to a Taylor Swift concert, knowing how much I loved her.

I was beyond thrilled and had a fun evening with my friends singing to my heart's content at the concert. When I returned home after the party, I felt content and happy. The night had been magical, thanks to the love and thoughtfulness of my parents. I noticed a change in the atmosphere as I saw my parents having a quiet conversation in the kitchen that seemed serious. Curious and a bit worried, I asked them if something was wrong. They motioned for me to sit down, and I could sense that they wanted to talk about something serious. I joked if this was about my messy room, trying to lighten the mood. But my parents didn't smile which made me a bit nervous.

We sat down in the living room, and my parents took a deep breath and handed me an end of I looked at it curiously, thinking maybe they wanted to give me something again for my birthday, but my mom interrupted my thoughts. She told me that before I opened the letter, they wanted to tell me something very important, something they had been debating for a long time. At this point, I was filled with a mix of curiosity and a tinge of anxiety. I nodded, urging them to go on. My mom began to share a part of my life that had been a complete mystery to me until now. She revealed that they were not my real parents and had, in fact, adopted me from my bio parents when I was just three months old. As her words hung in the air, I felt a whirlwind of emotions.

My mind raced to comprehend this revelation, my entire identity suddenly felt like pieces of a puzzle scattered on the floor. I turned to look at my dad, seeking reassurance, and he gave a somber nod. My parents began to share that they had tried to get pregnant for a very long time but had been unsuccessful. After years of disappointment, they decided to explore adoption. The waiting was agonizing, but after two long years, they finally got the call that changed their lives, a chance to welcome a baby into their family. This is how they met my biological parents who had apparently got pregnant at just 17 years old. They were facing disapproval from their own parents, my bio-grandparents, who strongly opposed the early pregnancy. They explained that my bio-parents had a tough time.

after my birth and, with heavy hearts, had decided it was best for me to have a different life. My bio parents loved how warm my adoptive parents were with me and had readily agreed to go forward with the adoption. Sitting there and hearing my parents talk felt surreal to me, and part of me wished it was all just a prank. They reassured me that keeping this information from me wasn't about deceit but stemmed from their love. They wanted me to experience a regular childhood without the weight of this knowledge. My mom pulled out an album, sharing that my bio-mom had documented her pregnancy journey. She had also written a letter for me, which was inside the envelope that I had handed earlier. My mom had apparently asked my adoptive parents to give these

to me when I turned 21. Taking a moment to gather my thoughts, I hesitated but eventually opened the envelope. The letter inside was a heartfelt message from my bio-mom, expressing her love for me. She expressed the joy she felt when she first discovered her pregnancy and couldn't wait to be a mother. She wrote how excited my dad was to hear the news and they had excitedly planned their future. She candidly went on to share the challenges they both faced from their parents who deemed that they were too young to be pregnant. They continued to struggle and fight for me but ultimately had to yield to their parents' demands when they realized that they couldn't give me the life I deserved. after I was born, they eventually made the heartbreaking choice to give me up for adoption, which was the hardest decision they ever had to make.

She continued to apologize for not being there for me and hoped that I had found happiness and love with my adoptive parents. In the end, she mentioned that after I turned 21, if I wanted then I could come and meet her and she would be ready to answer all my questions. Tears welled up in my eyes as I read her words, realizing the complexity of emotion she must have felt while writing this. My adoptive parents sat quietly, giving me the space to process all this. As I flipped through the photo album, a wave of emotions washed over me. My hands etched the smile on my mother's face as I noticed the similarities that we had. I noticed how I had the same curly hair as my dad. I had always wondered about my hair as neither of my adoptive parents have curly hair,

but it all made sense to me now. Each picture of my biological parents told a story, the smiles reflecting their joy, the challenges etched on their faces. For the first time, I held a connection to people I had never met. My parents then revealed that they could disclose my bio-parents' identity if I wished to meet them. I responded with a nod, acknowledging that I deserved to meet them and ask a million questions going on in my head. The prospect of meeting them stirred up a potent blend of emotions, leaving me caught between the intense curiosity to know more and the uncertainty of how this unexpected reunion might unfold. My parents shared that my bio-mom was Rose, aged 38,

and my dad was James also aged 39. They told me that they could set up a meeting with them in the coming weeks if that's what I needed. I nodded, a mix of excitement and nervousness bubbling within me. My parents, understanding the weight of the situation, again emphasized that whatever choice I made, they would stand by me. I expressed that I would like to meet them and talk to them further about my childhood. Over the next few days, I found myself grappling with a mix of anticipation and trepidation, unsure of how this significant chapter in my life would unfold.

My mom shared that my bio-mom was thrilled about the idea and had readily agreed to meet me over the weekend but my bio-dad had not responded just yet. As the weekend approached, I felt more and more nervous by the minute. I was still coming to terms with the news about my bio parents, and in just two days, I would be meeting my biomother in person which was nerve-wracking honestly. Little did I know, fate had other plans for this chapter of my life. Today, my parents called me downstairs to meet someone. Intrigued, I headed down and found an older woman standing at our doorstep.

The woman motioned for me to come closer. She mentioned her name was Linda and that she was my biological grandmother, as we shook hands. Glancing at my parents, I saw they were just as surprised as me to see her. My bio-grandma then asked if we had recently reached out to my bio-mother, Rose, and expressed a desire to meet her. I nodded saying that my parents had reached out to Rose as I wanted to meet her. Sensing some tension, my parents suggested we sit down with her and discuss this openly. Linda then shared that my bio-mother was very excited to meet me this weekend and had been talking to her about it.

which is how she found out about our upcoming meeting. My bio-grandma then solemnly asked why I wanted to meet her after all these years. My mom explained to her that they had contacted my bio-mom as she had stated during the adoption that if, after turning 21, I wished to meet her, I could. Linda shook her head, expressing regret that they shouldn't have done that. Confused, my brows furrowed, as she began to explain that my bio-mother had already given me up, hence there was no need for me to see her now after all these years. Hearing those words felt like a punch to my gut.

My dad interjected and asked what she meant by that. Linda then went on to say that she had always regretted that her daughter got pregnant at such an early age. She described Rose, my bio-mom, as a brilliant student until she met James, my bio-dad. Linda painted James as someone not quite up to par, distracting Rose from her studies. Against her wishes, they started dating and eventually got pregnant during college. Rose's pregnancy became a source of shame for my grandparents, and initially, they refused to accept her. It was only when James pleaded with them to let Rose stay in their house until she gave birth that they reluctantly agreed. Throughout my bio-mother's pregnancy, my grandparents insisted

that she give me up. No matter how much she pleaded, they refused to support her. Eventually, she did give me up, simplifying all of their lives according to Linda. Rose and James didn't last long as a couple afterward. My mother eventually went on to graduate as a valedictorian from college. Currently, she's married, and she and her husband have two children together. I listened to all of this quietly. Linda then turned her attention to me, saying that I should be happy and content with the parents I have now instead of trying to destroy my bi-a-mother's life by contacting her.

I asked her how I was doing that when I simply wanted to meet with her and talk. Linda said that my Biomother's current husband had no idea about me and she would like my mother to keep it that way. According to Linda, my mother had brought only shame to the family by getting pregnant with me before marriage so she didn't want anyone else to find out about it. Linda audaciously inquired if I was seeking financial assistance, leaving me dumbfounded by the boldness of her question. Hearing this, my parents exchanged angry glances, clearly upset by Linda's judgmental comments. My dad spoke up, defending my right to know about my origins and questioning why Linda was so harsh in her views. Linda, in turn, responded defensively, insisting that it was for the best and that my bi-a-mother's life had moved on without me in it. She insisted that I wasn't going to get anything by meeting her after all these years.

Despite my parents' attempts to keep the conversation civil, emotions were running high. I caught in the middle, tried to maintain a calm demeanor, expressing my desire to meet my biomother without causing any harm. Linda, however, seemed adamant in her belief that reconnecting would only bring shame and disruption to her daughter's life. The tension in the room kept rising as my parents reiterated that Rose had indeed agreed to meet me. They insisted that if she had changed her mind, it should be rose herself communicating that, not Linda. My parents argued vehemently, stating that Linda had no right to interfere in my desire to connect with my bio-mom. Frustrated, Linda finally stood up, making it clear that she disagreed with our decisions and was

leaving. My parents, though angry, tried to reassure me that I had their support no matter what choice I made, even if Linda disapproved. I am sitting in my room lost in words. I can't what prompted my biogramma to come to our house and say these things to my face. It has left a bitter taste in my mouth and I am afraid my biomother might feel the same way too. While I hold no expectations from Rose, I will be a bit heard if she makes me feel as unwanted as Linda has made me feel. I also feel guilty realizing my parents reached out to her solely because of my desire to connect, potentially impacting her current family. So Ida for having reached out to my bio mother and potentially jeopardizing her life with her current

husband and children? Should I cancel our plans to meet and leave things as they are? Update 1. My bio dad reached out to my parents. Yesterday after Linda came to meet us, I was feeling really down but my parents shared that my bio dad, James, had replied back to their message and would love to meet me. Apparently, he had been overseas for work and missed their initial Facebook message. Knowing he's eager to meet me brings relief and adds a touch of happiness to my spirits. I am supposed to meet Rose tomorrow but I am really nervous and still unsure. I have been wondering if I should cancel the plans. I am afraid that Linda might turn up during our meeting and start yelling at me again.

Wrestling with these thoughts is overwhelming and I am grappling with the decision to either face this head on or reconsider the plans altogether. Update 2. It's been a few days since I gave an update to my last. last story. I finally met Rose and James during the weekend as I had mentioned earlier. I went to the cafe thinking that I was only supposed to meet Rose. As I nervously entered the cafe, my emotions were a whirlwind. I looked around and recognized them almost instantly as it was like staring into a mirror. There they were, my bio parents, waiting for me with a mixture of anticipation and uncertainty etched on their faces. Rose, my bio mom, smiled warm.

her eyes reflecting a blend of emotions love, curiosity, and perhaps a touch of anxiety. James, my bio-dad, stood up to greet me, with a genuine expression that mirrored both excitement and apprehension. Our initial interaction was a mix of awkward smiles and hesitant words. Rose broke the ice by asking if I had any questions. Encouragingly, she looked at me as I hesitated before asking why they decided to give me up despite facing financial troubles. Rose began to explain that at the tender age of 17, navigating college life, she found herself with no support system as a first-time mother. She and James had earnestly tried to secure employment, but the demands of their intensive classes made it challenging to find a job that could sustain their basic needs. James added that his parents had passed away long ago, leaving him with no one to turn to for assistance.

Tears welled up in Rose's eyes as she continued to stress that she had been willing to sacrifice her career, but her parents vehemently opposed her, going so far as to threaten to cut her off entirely. It became clear to her that she wouldn't be able to provide me with the life I deserved. James interjected, expressing their commitment to providing me a better life, one they believed they couldn't offer at that time. He expressed how extensively they had discussed the adoption situation, and it had left both of them emotionally scarred. He shared that they couldn't overcome the pain after giving me up,

ultimately leading to their separation. Rose, now silently crying, reached out and held my hands, a mixture of sorrow and connection lingering in the air. I could sense the deep sadness and regret in both of them. Curious, I asked them if they ever regretted giving me up. James, with a heavy heart, admitted, every day, and broke down emotionally. Witnessing their pain unfold before me, made me feel bad. It was strange, just moments ago, they were strangers, yet now, as they cried I could feel a connection with them that I couldn't explain.

To lighten the mood, I asked them to share the story of how they met. Rose, warmly smiling, perhaps reminiscing about their fond memories, shared how James had persistently pursued her for five months before she finally agreed to go on a date with him. James joked about finding every excuse to spend time with her, admitting to spending hours in the library just hoping for a chance to talk to her. He thought he would have had to pursue her even more, but, thankfully, she said yes. Linda blushed at this, and we all shared a laugh. Watching my bio-parents laugh and share about their college days like two giddy teenagers

warmed my heart. As they continued to share stories, the initial tension in the air began to dissipate, replaced by a growing sense of understanding and connection. They talked about how they eventually fell in love with each other. Linda reminisced about the day she found out she was pregnant and had revealed her pregnancy to James. She described how he leapt out of the chair in joy to hug her. Despite her initial hesitation about how he would react, James reassured her that he would do anything for her. I realized that even though they couldn't keep me and had to eventually give me away, I was a product of their love and I couldn't ask for anything more than that. I mustered the courage to express my gratitude for the photo album and the heartfelt letter. Rose, visibly moved,

shared how she had carefully documented every moment during her pregnancy, hoping that one day I would get to see it. James chimed in, saying that he helped take her pictures hoping that one day they could show those pictures to me together. Hearing him say this, I gulped back tears. Rose then asked me how my life had been until now. I told her that I never made me feel like I wasn't their child. Hence it was a complete shock when they revealed the existence of my bio-parents on my 21st birthday.

I continued, expressing how they have provided me with everything I ever wanted and more. Rose and James sighed in relief. They shared that they had spent countless hours meeting parents and had eventually decided on my adoptive parents when they saw how kind they were. They admitted they were apprehensive about how I might perceive them, given the circumstances surrounding my adoption. However, they were grateful to hear that my adoptive parents had created a loving and supportive environment for me. I then cautiously asked Rose if she had any recent communication with her mother. She had a puzzled expression on her face as she questioned how I knew about her mother. With a sigh, I revealed the unexpected visit her mother made to our home two days ago.

Rose's eyes widened and surprised as I shared the events of what happened. I described how Linda had confronted my adoptive parents, expressing disapproval and discouraging any contact between me and her. Rose's expression shifted from confusion to concern, and she immediately got enraged that her mother had tried to dissuade me from meeting her. She apologized for her mother's behavior and asked me to convey the same to my parents. She continued to explain that her mother had always been controlling towards her all her life. I nodded an understanding as I knew this was a very complex situation. James seemed enraged also and assured me that I hadn't made a mistake by reaching out to them. He conveyed a

that both he and Rose had wanted to meet me for a long time but were hesitant to intrude on my life. They were overjoyed when my adoptive parents reached out to them. Rose chimed in, agreeing to this, and told me that she had already made up her mind to talk to her husband about me as she felt no shame about me. She continued to tell me that if I wanted to in due time she would love to introduce me to her as her words settled in, relief washed over the lingering doubts I had about disrupting her life. Knowing that she not only welcomed the connection, also desired to be a part of my life felt like mending a bridge between two worlds. Her openness and sincerity struck a chord, easing the uncertainty that had shadowed my decision

to meet her. Rose continued to open up about her current family, expressing the challenges and joys of her life. She spoke about her husband and their children. Her voice trembled as she revealed how similar I looked to her eldest child and that I had the same eye color. James, in turn, talked about his busy life as an investment banker who traveled around the globe. He hadn't yet had the time to settle down and start a family but did have a long-time girlfriend named Ginny. Our conversation moved through a spectrum of emotions, raw honesty, shared regrets, and moments of laughter as we discovered common interests and traits. They showed genuine interest, asking about my friends and even inquiring about my current boyfriend.

They expressed their sincere desire to build a relationship with me at a pace that was comfortable for me, and I nodded in agreement. Despite the years that had elapsed since our lives diverged, there was a palpable connection a shared sense of belonging and the acknowledgement of the intricate web that bound us. As we said goodbye that evening, I felt a bunch of emotions thankful for the chance to meet, and the realization that this meeting was just the start of something new. Since that day, James and Rose have continued to stay in touch with me. After meeting my bio-parents, my adoptive parents heard everything I had to say. They were glad that James and Rose had met me in the cafe together and had been so open to all my questions.

In their eyes, I could see their love, assuring me that no matter what happens in the future, I have their support. They continue to help me navigate through the mix of emotions that has come with this unexpected chapter in my life. Update 3. It's been six months since my last update. Thanks to everyone's support and patience throughout all this. It's been a crazy journey but I am glad to inform you that everything's going well. In the midst of all the crazy feelings and revelations, I realized I needed some extra help to figure things out. A bunch of people suggested therapy, so I decided to give it a try. Going to therapy is like having this safe space where I can spill all my thoughts without

any judgment whatsoever. It has helped me deal with all the messy emotions and questions that have come with reconnecting with my bio-parents. Therapy has been my way of untangling the knots and figuring out what I really want from these relationships. Rose has been awesome about this whole reunion thing. She has not only opened up to me about her life, but has also introduced me to her family, just like she said she would.

It happened about two months ago when she invited me over for lunch. Walking into her home, I was feeling a mix of excitement and nerves. meeting her husband and kids made everything so real and I started to get really anxious. But they were all very welcoming, and her eldest child, Dorothy, who's got the same I color as me, also cracked a joke that instantly broke the ice. We sat around the table, sharing stories, and laughing. It was a pretty chill afternoon, and it meant a lot to me. They made me feel like I was a part of their world. I sometimes meet up with Dorothy for tennis lessons whenever I can during

my crazy college schedule. As for Linda, Rose had a stern talk with her mother and asked her to mind her own business. She doesn't talk to Linda as much after finding out how she behaved with me and my adoptive parents. My bio dad, James, has continued to be in touch with me. Whenever he's back from his trips, he makes an effort to meet up. We catch up over coffee or sometimes just chill at a park. The coolest part is, he's got this knack for telling wild stories from his adventures around the world. He also never forgets to bring me chocolates or diaries, and I really appreciate these thoughtful gestures. My folks, Robert and Michelle, have been rock stars through all this. They have been there, listening, giving their thoughts, and just being the awesome, loving parents they have always been to me.

Looking back on the last six months, I realize how lucky I am to have both sets of parents. Each parent contributes something unique to my life, and I have found a way to connect with each one of them in my own way. The journey is far from over, and I am aware the road ahead might hold more challenges and surprises. Yet, I am grateful for the opportunity to have met with my bio parents. It has been interesting to discover the depth of love between people that transcends beyond both biological and adoptive ties. I hope you enjoy this story. I perused my spouse's diary and found out he desired for me to cease existing so he could wet a different lady. I departed with our infant and now I am assuming control of our enterprise.

I, 33F, and my husband, 37M, has kept a semi-regular journal throughout our four-year relationship. He does not keep it hidden and up until now I have always respected his privacy. We had a heated conversation and my gut told me to read it so after he left for work. I did. He wrote several times that he hates me and at one point he said when I was sick he hoped I would die. When I read those words I packed up me and our baby and went to a friends where I'm staying now. I took pictures of all the pages. I told him I just need some space to cool off after a conversation and I will be home soon. I booked with my therapist and contacted a lawyer. We had a rough patch recently that lasted about two weeks.

It was a dark time, but we pulled through. There was no violence, no moments where I was afraid of him, just sincere conversations about difficult feelings. The notes of hatred correspond with that rough patch. The rest of the journal is tame and reflects the man I know and love mostly little self-pep talks around work and family stuff, goals, habit tracking. He has sent me several warm messages since I left. He says he's glad I'm taking space for myself, that he looks forward to reconnecting when I come home,

it's okay to have little hiccups, that he loves me, etc. I was sure our relationship was over the moment I read that he hates me, or even the moment I felt the need to violate his privacy. But the warm messages and the rest of the journal have me wavering a little. I understand the need to blow off steam when things are tense, and journaling is a healthy way to do that. but never in even our darkest moments have I fantasized about his death. Splitting up maybe, but this feels so sinister. I don't know how I could ever feel safe around him again.

Is this just healthy venting and I'm overreacting here? Has anyone else had similar thoughts about a spouse that they then got over? Or is this a man I need to protect myself and my baby from? Edit to add context. The rough patch was about his feelings for another. woman. He didn't cheat, but his friendship with her makes me uncomfortable. The part of the journal where he says he hates me was written as a love letter to her. He says he thinks about me dying and being replaced. Comments. Jealous at 51.46. I'm married 17 years and I've never wished my spouse would

die. Like what? Does he know you seen this? He just left it out like he wanted you to see it. And you are the mother of his child. Op, he doesn't know I've seen it. He has always left it out. Carla Way, it is over. He wrote a love letter in his journal to another woman. You know it is more than a friendship. No matter what he says to your face.

Stay strong. Contact an attorney. Go to your home while he is at work and gather more of your belongings. I am sorry. Don't believe his words now. He is seeing a strong woman stand up for herself and reality is hitting him in his face. 20 Keller 12. Email those pictures to at least one person you trust before he finds out you've seen them.

Update 1. I hope I'm doing this right. Thank you so much for all the advice and words of encouragement. Some of it was tough to read, but still deeply appreciated. wanted to do an update because a lot of people were concerned for my safety. I took a commenter's advice and sent the pictures to a trusted friend. She pointed out that a passage I initially read is every day I think about telling her actually very clearly says killing her. I guess my brain couldn't comprehend that at first.

I received a ton of helpful perspective and support, but that comment in particular might have saved my life. After I digested that, I called a crisis line and they were quite helpful in talking me through the shock. They also put me in touch with a center that's helping me get more affordable legal help. Bought some more time for my husband. Told him I'm enjoying getting out of town and I'd like to stay an extra night or two. I have therapy tomorrow and an appointment with a social worker to make a safety plan. I feel like I have a good crew of family, friends and professionals supporting me. Absolutely zero regrets now about reading his journal.

My get told me something was off, but I couldn't have imagined a worst-case scenario as bad as this. I'm so glad the inner alarm bells were louder than my conscience this time. Nothing about this marriage is worth risking my life to salvage. Update 2, just want to say a huge thank you to this community for helping me through a challenging time. Your comments and messages have been such a comfort and I'm so touched by the the kindness of internet strangers. At the suggestion of the social worker, I reported his journal to the local police, and that was, unsurprisingly, a one-tenth experience. The officer I spoke to chided me for reading his journal, spoke about his reasonable expectation of privacy and

basically threatened to tell my husband I had reported him. I had to firmly advocate for myself and stress that I was afraid for my life. It was an awful conversation, but now there is at least a record which includes photos of the journal. The family lawyer I spoke with advised me to file a protection order right away. The order would ban him from all contact with me and our child, bar him from our residence, my workplace, and any other places I request. He would then have to prove to a judge that he is a fit parent to be able to see his daughter again, and then we would go to mediation to try and agree on what visitation would look like. Another wrench in this situation is that we own a business together. I have an appointment with another lawyer this week

to discuss what my options are there. The business was my idea, I'm confident I can run it without him, and I want to, but he's put a lot of time into it and it's the main source of income for both of us right now. It's a good moneymaker, and I'm worried he'd fight me tooth and nail on this. We take turns going in, so I went as usual on Saturday, with a friend and a baseball bat. I continued my active intending to reconcile, doing video calls with the baby, etc. while I was at our workplace, I found another journal. Page after page love letters to this other woman going back months. The progression from I liked seeing you at the grocery store to I drove past your house today was wild. He writes about how he's deeply in love with her, can't wait to marry her, etc.

He wrote about every interaction he's ever had with her and the poor woman seems completely innocent and oblivious. Even what he perceived as flirting seems like basic politeness. He mentions a few other times that he wants me to die. The most recent entry was from the day before. He writes to her that he thinks I might be breaking up with him, but that's fine because he never liked me that much anyway. If he's upset about anything, it's just about losing the house and how the breakup will be perceived by our friends and community. Curious if people think I should warn the other woman. it's my instinct not to, at least not before the ink dries on our impending paperwork. I was already concerned about how he might react to being served with a protection order,

most worried that he might try to sabotage our business or trash the house. Given how preoccupied he seems to be with his public image, I made a plan to confront him about the journals and use the protection order as leverage. Here's how it went down. I left the journal and my baby with my friend and went to our house with two trusted male friends. and the baseball bat. They waited on our porch. I told my husband that if they heard anything louder than a speaking voice they would come in with the bat. I told him I had to tell him something he wouldn't like to hear, and he needed to know that I had already taken steps to

protect myself. I told him I read the journals, specifically what he said about wanting me to die and thinking every day about killing me. I said I had taken photos, that they are backed up, and a trusted source also has copies. That I also have the original copy of the journal full of love letters. I wondered until this moment if he had intended for me to find them but he was obviously blindsided. He tried to say it was just venting, but I told him I would not be taking any chances or entertaining anything he has to say about it. That after reading what I read, I will never trust him or feel safe around him ever again. I told him that no one that knows him knows about this yet.

The men on the porch just know that I'm breaking up with him and need support. This was true, aside from the friend that I called to stay with and the other friend I sent the photos to, who lives on the other side of the country. I said I am willing to protect his reputation here if he cooperates with me. I told him that I don't even have to ruin his chances with the other woman, but I can. I said that he can either do what I need to feel safe, or I can have that safety court ordered. He asked what I wanted, and I said I wanted him to give up the business. We'll sort out the details after I speak to the other lawyer, but for now I want his keys and I'll be changing the passwords on everything.

He didn't put up any kind of fight. He didn't want to hear anything about what it would look like to go through the courts. He didn't ask about our baby. He just calmly got up and got the keys and asked if I wanted anything else. I told him that any communication with me should be about something. separation logistics only, like arranging a time for me to collect the rest of my things. Since then he has been blowing up my phone, saying I know his heart, let's walk back from the edge, let's talk to a therapist, he's sorry his words hurt me, etc. Each time, I just tell him he's crossing my boundaries and he backs off. He apparently told his mom and sister everything and they're supporting him in getting help. He's been cooperative so far. He's interviewing for a new

seeing a therapist and updating me on his movements, though I didn't ask for this. I've temporarily moved in with my parents. My commute to work is longer, but I have help with baby and home-cooked dinners. Starting to settle into new routines, doing so much therapy and yoga. I inherited a small cabin before my husband and I met. It is currently being renovated and the original plan was to move in there with my husband and baby when it's done. The cabin is actually in my mother's name because she's never trusted my husband, correct, and wanted me to shield it from him in case of a divorce.

Thank you, Mom. So I will have a permanent home for me and baby very soon. The dust still needs to settle and it could get worse before it gets better, but I'm optimistic at this point. I'm confident I'm going to come out the other side of this as a badass single mom with an incredible child, a thriving business and an adorable little home. Honestly, the thought of having all those things on my own without my husband is so freeing. I've got a great village supporting me. Thank you all so much for being part of it.

Comments, Yaya Yachno, he's already not putting up a fight and that itself is a huge relief. If she still lets the lady know, it could make him snap and hurt her and the baby. Op has to think about her kid's safety and try to not be a target. Op, this is exactly where my head is at. I don't know this woman, so I can't trust her not to tell her friends and I don't want it to get back to him. Still likes turtles, Ops' lawyer or social workers should handle that. Ock should share it with both, either can take appropriate action to inform the other woman. No need for Ops' life to be Messier or give the soon-to-be-X-anything to work with.

Op, lawyer agreed with me that it's best not to talk to the other woman for now. The police know. 2-2-Banarama, it would make a wonderful book someday. Maybe you can turn this horrible event into a stream of income for you and your baby somehow, to help with your new life. It takes a week just to make the appointment sometimes, lawyers, therapists, but protection orders can come quickly. Please tell us this is real. But you didn't lie to us. Op, it is all unfortunately real.

For anyone else in a similar situation that might be real, reading this in my area there is a legal center that holds space for emergency appointments every day at 2 p.m. Protection orders are processed the same day they are filed, that's my understanding. I didn't actually file one yet, as far as a therapist, I have one I see regularly, so I already had an appointment on the books. After speaking with me, my therapist opened up an additional weekend appointment because I obviously needed the extra support. Now on to the next story. Story 2 Discovered that my wife cheated on me with my best friend, so I ruined her life.

Here is my story. My wife and I both met each other 15 years ago at summer camp. I had been attending the camp since I was a child and when I was of age I applied to be a counselor. My girlfriend had actually just moved to the area and applied for a summer job there. She was a new girl to everybody else who had been going there for years. She was beautiful and right away I had a crush on her. We had our little summer fling and we didn't think anything else would come of it. However, we kept in touch and we eventually ended up going to college in the same city.

From there our relationship turned romantic. When we graduated we got married shortly after and everything had been perfect between us. I truly loved her with all my heart and I thought she felt the same way. We had two children together and I had a great job so she was able to stay. stay home and take care of them full time. It was like the perfect American dream. I didn't have to travel often for my work, but every year there was a big company retreat in the mountains.

It was for team building activities in theory, but it was just an excuse for everybody to get together and drink for an entire weekend. I looked forward to it all year long. I worked in the same office as my best friend, let's call him Mark. We met each other during our senior year of college and we hit it at a lot of. off right away. I had never gotten along with another person quite the way I got along with Mark. We got each other's sense of humor and we could talk about the strangest things for hours. He was hired at the firm we worked at first then he saw a potential opening for me and he vouched

for me. I thought I had him to thank for how great my life was in some respects. One of the reasons I was looking forward to going on the company trip was to spend some more quality time with Mark. The week of the trip came along and everybody in the office was excited, including Mark. However, the Friday before we were set to leave, Mark didn't show up to work. I texted him and asked him what was wrong and he told me that he must have had a very bad stomach bug. I asked him if he was going to be better by the time we left for the trip, and he said he wouldn't. I was bummed that Mark wasn't going to be able to go, but I didn't

think it would stop me from having a good time while I was there. There are plenty of other people in the office that I got on with. Saturday morning came and I said goodbye to my wife and left for the trip. I had a wonderful time while I was there and I never suspected that anything would have happened while I was gone. After all, my wife was home with our kids. I texted Mark a couple of times during the weekend just to make sure he was all right. He told me that he was still in bed trying to recover, but he appreciated me checking in. I sent him a few funny pictures and videos of things that were happening while we were there. I got home from the trip Sunday night and was relaxing with my kids and telling them an abridged version of what happened over the weekend. My wife was

always somewhat of a busybody. Relaxing was difficult for her in general, and she would often be going around the house and picking up toys and blankets and things like that to keep it tidy. The house was spotless when I came in, but she was still walking around and cleaning pointless things. In hindsight, I think she just didn't want to talk to me because she felt guilty. It was getting late, so I scooped up my kids and brought them to their rooms to tuck them in and say good night since I missed them the past couple of days. While I was kissing my son on the forehead, he asked me if Uncle Mark was going to be coming over again. First, I thought he was asking because he hadn't seen him in a while and missed him. I told him that I didn't know when Mark

would be coming over again. Then he told me that the day before Mark promised him he would be seeing him soon. I clarified with him and asked him if he had seen Mark the day before, and he confirmed it. I had no idea why Mark was at my house. When I was texting him, he told me that he was at home and recovering from the stomach bug. If he was at my house, that would mean that he lied to me. My suspicions were immediately raised because he wouldn't have lied to me about going to my house unless he was doing something he shouldn't have done. We were good friends and I trusted both him and my wife. If he needed to stop by my house for something, I would have understood.

When I got to my bedroom I mentioned to my wife what our son had said. She shrugged it off saying that he must have been mistaken and he might have been talking about a couple of weeks ago when Mark was over. My son was four years old at the time, so I doubted he would mention it if it was so long ago. I believed my son more than I believed my wife at the moment. However, I didn't have anything to prove my suspicions, so I dropped it. I went back to the office the following Tuesday morning and Mark was there, looking just as good as you ever did. I was still suspicious, so I checked in with him to see how his weekend went.

He confirmed to me once again that he was home resting all weekend long. My gut was telling me that there was something seriously wrong and I needed to get to the bottom of it. A few nights later, my wife left her phone in the living room while she went to do the dishes, so I snuck off to the bathroom with it. I hated going through her things, but I felt like I was being lied to and I needed to know what the truth was. I looked through the text message conversation between her and Mark to see if there was anything suspicious.

There were a lot of deleted messages between them. My mind wandered to everything that could have been in those messages. I did not doubt at that point that it was a lot of deleted messages. at that point that it was evidence of an affair. I was able to type in a Pasco to look at her hidden album and I found a lot of pictures of her naked. I found a few other pictures of a man whose face wasn't in the image, but I recognized a couple of tattoos as ones that Mark had. I was right to be suspicious after what our son had said. She did have Mark over and they must have slept together while I was away for the weekend. I could only imagine that Mark faked being

sick because he knew that there would be a window where he could be with my wife without having to worry about me. What angered me the most about all of this was the fact that they did it while my children were home. My son remembered seeing Mark there over the weekend. I didn't know the exact details about it, but was furious. I put my wife's phone back before she noticed anything and I went to bed early. I needed to think about what I wanted to do moving forward. I was going to divorce my wife and I wanted nothing to do with Mark in the future. Whether that meant somehow getting him fired or finding a new job myself, I didn't know. All I knew was that I wanted to get back at both of them. I knew that Mark liked to flirt at the office, so I thought I might be able to do something

with that. In particular, there was an assistant that he would often flirt with. The following day, in the break room around lunch, he was flirting with her once again, touching her on the shoulder and laughing with her. It wasn't anything harmful, but under the right circumstances, it could be seen in a different light. I suddenly took a couple of pictures of them while they were close together for later. When Mark left to go to a meeting, I talked to the assistant and I asked her if she felt uncomfortable around Mark sometimes. She looked at me kind of confused, it was obvious from some of their conversations that she was into

him as well. She told me that she wasn't uncomfortable. I planted a seed in her head that how much she flirted with her and touched her could be considered sexual harassment. She nodded her head like she was thinking about it for the first time. That same day, I went to our hour department and filed a formal complaint that I thought Mark's behavior was inappropriate. It was anonymous, so he would never know that it was me. The following day everything was going normally and he was pulled into the hour department for a meeting. Whenever things like that happen, people will either assume you're getting reprimanded for something or you're getting a raise.

The very next day we had a sexual harassment seminar in the workplace. Mark was publicly brought into the hour office just the day before, so everybody started putting the pieces together and thinking that Mark was responsible for the seminar. With all the conversations and rumors, the assistant he was hitting on started telling people that he made her uncomfortable and the narrative of Mark sexually harassing people at work took full form. Word got back to him and eventually, he came to me and asked me about it. He trusted that I would be honest with him about what people were saying. I told him that I didn't know what to believe. After all, he was sleeping with my wife so he clearly couldn't be trusted. He was shocked that I said that,

probably surprised to learn that I even knew about it. The talk didn't stop in the office and Marrower Mark eventually put in his two weeks notice because he felt so uncomfortable. Meanwhile, I found an amazing divorce attorney and I served my wife with papers a few days before Mark quit his job. She was completely shocked by the news when she got it. She had no idea I knew about her and Mark being together. She tried to make me out as a villain for leaving her and the kids. I told her I had no intention of leaving the kids, just her. We got our divorce and because she cheated she wasn't awarded any spousal support. She was forced to go live with her mother and look for another job. I got full custody of the kids, the judge did not like that she was

having an affair with the kids in the house so blatantly. She still has visitation rights to them, though. It hurts the most when I think about how it wasn't just one person that I lost in all of this. I thought of Mark like a brother and he and my wife both stabbed me in the back. I have a lot of stuff to work on for myself before I even consider dating in the future. I hope you enjoy this story. Child embarrassed my spouse during our special celebration by bringing up her inability to conceive and declining to express regret. Therefore, I decided to sever ties with her, but she returned in tears after speaking with

her relative. Used her. Hi, so I, 40M, have a daughter, Jade, 17F, and I have had a somewhat strained relationship with her in the past few years. Jade's mom, my ex-wife, passed away nine years ago. We had been high school sweethearts and had married right out of college. But after that, things got rough between us and we had already been divorced for two years when she passed away from a seizure in her sleep.

At the time, she had been splitting her time and living with both of us for half the month, and unfortunately, when she passed away, Jade had been staying with her, I think something just snapped inside my daughter the day that it happened. Since then, she has never been the same, and she has even been diagnosed with clinical depression because she went into shock the day that her mother died. She and her mom had always been very close, so I was not surprised that it happened, but it pained me to see her like this. She used to be a cheerful and fun-loving kid, but after her mom passed away, she shut everybody out and got really irritable if anybody tried to talk to her and sometimes, I would even see her talking to herself and stuff like that.

So I had to take her to a psychiatrist and they told us that she had depression and had developed severe anxiety, which was why she was not even able to sleep at night. So they prescribed her a bunch of meds and I made her have her medicines, religiously, no matter how much she protested and insisted that she did not need any of this and that she was just fine. I was grieving the loss of my ex-wife and I did not want anything bad to happen to my daughter, so for the next couple of years, I was completely devoted to taking care of her and making sure that she was fine. And within a few years, she got better and was back to normal again.

I was so happy for her and I thought that maybe I could finally go back to living life because by then, I had made my peace with my ex-wife passing away as well. I did not exactly start actively dating, but one of my friends told me about his cousin who had called me after she had seen me at his wedding back then. And he gave her my number after I said that I was fine with it and started talking and that woman is now my wife, Carol, 36F. Initially, we would only speak to each other by text and occasionally flirt with each other. I had been very upfront about what had happened in my life and how my priority was always going to be my daughter, and she seemed to be fine with it. After three months of just texting each other, we finally decided to meet and we went out on several

dates afterward. Finally, after almost six months of dating, I brought her home to introduce her to Jade and I thought that she would be fine with it since she was doing much better, but unfortunately, Jade was very unhappy about this new relationship. She immediately made it very obvious that she was not happy since as soon as I introduced her to Carol and told her that this was somebody that I had been seeing, she made a face and told me that her mother was barely cold in her grave, and I had already started seeing other people. That was the first comment that she had made, and when I told her that it was not appropriate to say that when somebody was visiting us for the first time, she told me that she didn't care and went back to

her room. Needless to say, the first meeting did not go pretty well and after Carol left, I had to seriously reprimand Jade, but even then, she told me that she did not like Carol and she did not approve of our relationship, so she was going to continue behaving this way and was going to make sure that she did not last with me. We got into a fight that day, but eventually. I had to make up with her because she's my daughter. Luckily, Carol was very understanding about all of this and told me that she could understand that Jade was going through a tough stage and she didn't take that kind of behavior to heart. But she would keep her distance from Jade from this point on and I respected that.

That was a really long time ago, and since then Carol and I have been together. After dating for four years, we finally decided to get married and now, we have been married for almost two years. We love each other, and honestly, the only person who had a problem with this relationship was Jade. She used to be really rude and impolite to Carol in the beginning and would make horrible remarks about her whenever she would come over in the initial stages of our relationship. But when I told her that I would ground her and take away her phone if she continued to do that, she started behaving herself a bit. But she would still shoot her nasty looks and constantly tell me that she hated her after every single visit.

After we announced our engagement, she had another breakdown and we had a big fight where she accused me of betraying her and said that she was never going to speak to me again. But then, we made up because we obviously had to, but she still refused to attend the wedding. So things have not been good, and I have had a lot of problems trying to balance my life and keeping both Jade and Carol happy. I'm just very thankful that Carol is such an understanding partner and she never takes offense at any of the things that Jade says, because she's just that forgiving and kind-hearted. Jade is just that difficult to be around, but for the past couple of years, she has mostly just kept her mouth shut

and kept her problems with Carol to herself. She doesn't interact with her stepmom at all, and even though they live in the same house and have been for the past four years, they literally never speak to each other if they can help. Carol does occasionally speak to her as politely as she can whenever she absolutely needs to, but Jade doesn't even look at her

and pretends like she doesn't even exist. And I've made my peace with it, this is as good as it's going to get, and I can't help it. Now, almost a month ago, Carol and I threw a party to celebrate our two-year anniversary. We invited a couple of our friends and family members and some co-workers. We were having the event at home, just like our first wedding anniversary, so Jade was there. On our first anniversary, Carol and I had a similar party, but Jade had refused to be part of it and had gone over a friend's house, but this time, she decided to stay. I was kind of skeptical about having her there for the event and in the end, she proved that I was right to doubt her intentions.

Once all the guests had arrived, everybody was socializing and drinking and having a lot of fun. And then, all of a sudden, Jade announced that she wanted to make a speech in our honor. Carol and I were shocked and so was everybody else because I think pretty much everyone knew that Jade did not like my wife and she had proven it once and for all when she refused to attend my wedding. So for her to announce that she wanted to make a speech, I instantly realized that this could not be something good, I tried to laugh it off and told her that it would not be necessary, but she insisted on it. And eventually, we did not want to create a scene and so, we decided to give her a chance, and I still regret that. She first talked about how she had never had a good relationship with Carol and

we all knew that anyway, so it was not a surprise but when she said that she wanted to work on that and build a relationship with her, we were all kind of taken aback, but I was still feeling like there was something more to come. I tried to get her to rush through her speech, but she took her own sweet time and eventually, she announced that the reason she wanted to work on her relationship with Carol was because she knew that she was always going to be an only child and she really wanted the inheritance, but since I was literally under Carol's thumb. She wanted to make sure that she did not end up losing out on anything because of her bad relationship with Carol. Then, she went on to elaborate on the only child comment, saying that she was just lucky that Carol was

never going to be able to have any children of her own since she had recently found out that she was infertile. And then she thanked Carol for making sure that she would not have any competition and ended her speech. and then, she went into her room, leaving all of us shocked by what she had just done. It's true, a few months ago, Carol had found out that she was infertile. We had been actively trying to get pregnant for almost a year but did not have any success, so we decided to get ourselves tested and found out that she was infertile. In a way, we counted as lucky because she was past 35, so it might have been risky for her as well, but even then, she was very upset because she really wanted to have a child and so did I,

we made our peace with it and had been trying to get over it. We never bothered to hide it or be secretive about it when we were around Jade, so she had been aware that last year, Carol had been very upset around the end of the year because she had found out this devastating news. But we had never ever expected her to bring something like this up while we were having our anniversary party and as soon as she had delivered that speech and gone back to her room, Carol broke down into tears and everybody started trying to calm her down. Most of the guests left a little while after that because it just got too awkward and I decided to drive Carol to her parents home so she could live with them for a few days while I dealt with the situation with Jade because what she had done was unacceptable and a really low blow to my wife. We had tolerated her disrespectful behavior for a really long time, but just because I love her, it does not make her entitled to disrespect other people whom I love.

I was furious and as soon as I got back home after driving Carol to her parents' place, I told Jade that we needed to talk and she pretended like she didn't even care. But I made it very clear to her that she had to either apologize to Carol and everybody else who had been present at the party and go back to therapy or she could give up any hopes of being able to go to college in the fall because I would not be funding her and I would also ask her to leave as soon as she turned 18. I made it very clear to her that she only had two choices, she could either do the right thing or she could lose me forever. She didn't even think about what she wanted.

Instantly, she told me that she didn't even need me or the family because she was leaving and that's the reason why she had decided to make that speech, so she could go out with a bang and make sure that we knew exactly how low her opinion of Jade was. When I asked her where she was going to go, she told me that she was going to live with her aunt, my ex-wife's younger sister. That's when I found out that apparently, for the last couple of weeks, she had been in touch with her aunt, and that was bad news because my ex-sister-in-law, Alice, 35F, was the worst. She had always been insanely jealous of my ex-wife and had even confessed her love to me, just for attention, the day before our wedding and that's how she ended up getting thrown

out of the family. A few years after we got married, her parents did forgive her, but my ex-wife did not and I've had nothing to do with that woman for I don't even know how long. But I guess she is still held on to that grudge that she had against me and she was using my daughter against me, which is insane. I tried to tell Jade that she was not allowed to go to her aunt or even speak to her, but she told me that she was going to be an adult in a couple of months anyway, so she did not need to live with me. And then, she said that she wished I had been the one to pass away instead of her mother and that really hurt. So after that comment, I decided to

that I would let her go because if she wanted to make a mistake like this, she was free to do so, and she would face the consequences of her actions on her own. After she left, I brought my wife back home and we had a discussion about whatever had happened. Then it was my turn to break down because Jade had been really hurtful to me and to her, but we had to let her go and it was very difficult, but we made peace with it. Now, almost one month has passed, and it has been very difficult for me to not try and care about my daughter, but she has made her own decisions and I can't control her anymore, and neither do I wish to. But, two days back, I received a phone call from her and Jade was in tears. I answered the call as soon as possible, and when I heard her crying, I got

really panicked and asked her what had happened and she told me that apparently, her aunt Alice had initially promised her that she was going to take care of her and make sure that she was able to go to college so that she wouldn't have to rely on me anymore. But for the past Last month, ever since she had left home and moved in with her aunt, she had been treated like a servant in her house and was made to do all the work. Apparently her aunt was in pain and couldn't do anything for herself. But she had still been doing it because she expected her to have enough funds to send her to college like she had been promised, and she had decided to have a conversation about that

with her aunt that day. However, she had been told that she didn't actually have the money, she just intended to help her her with taking out the student loan, and even then, she would have to find somebody to be a co-signer for her. And college is supposed to start in just a couple of months and she's already been accepted into the college of her choice, so she needs to find the money and that's why she called me now. She wants to come back and realize that she made a horrible mistake by trusting her aunt. But instead of just taking her back in, I told her that what I had said earlier still stands and she has to apologize to Carol before I take her back and now she's pissed because

she thinks that I don't care about her at all. So Ida for telling my daughter that she has to apologize to her stepmom before I bring her back home? Update 1, hey, so I brought my daughter back home. And yes, she did apologize to Carol. Jade reached out to Carol a couple of days after I told her that I would only let her back in and support her financially if she apologized from the bottom of her heart and I don't know if her apology was sincere or not, but she did what I asked her. So now she's back. She has been very distant from both of us since she has been home, but Carol is pretty much used to this kind of treatment, not me though. However, I am willing to cut her some slack because apparently, for the past month, she has been working really hard at her aunt's house.

Coming to that, she told me that her aunt Alice had reached out to her on social media and said that they had never been formally introduced to each other because our families did not like her much, but she wanted to get to know her sister's only. child and that's how they got to talking. I read the messages and she had been totally brainwashing and manipulating Jade to turn against us and she had been putting all these ideas into her head. I found it really disturbing because it's been years since I've even spoken to this lady and she still seems to have it in for me. I haven't been able to speak to Jade much as I said earlier, but from whatever she told me, Alice really still dislikes me. I guess it's because for those couple of years when she was not a part of the family, she was living on her own and I think she had to suffer a lot, financially. She was never able to go to college and by the time her family started

speaking to her again, she already had a job and she didn't feel like rejoining college. So she just stuck to working in now, since she doesn't have a degree, her options are pretty limited and I guess she holds me responsible for it. Even though it's really not my fault, she was in her mid-20s when her family started speaking to her again, so she could have easily made the choice of going to college and getting a degree, but she chose not to. I don't think that's my fault. And I don't think it's my fault that her family cut her off. It was because of her own behavior that it happened. Anyway, that's all I got out of Jade and I'm just glad that she's back now. Even though she's keeping to herself, I know that she feels really bad about whatever has happened and I know that

she's going to try and be better in the future, I can just feel it. Some people are going to criticize my choice of letting her back into the family, but she's my daughter, I can't let her go. And honestly, not even Carol seems to have a problem with it because I knew that if she did, she would have communicated that to me. We know that she's a troubled kid and she has agreed to go back to therapy, so we're hoping that it's going to help her and even when she goes away to college, she has agreed to continue the therapy sessions on video calls. As for the college funds, because of her behavior, I have told her that I'm going to pay for the last few semesters, but for the first few, she's going to have to figure out where herself,

and she was very cool about it. She said that she accepted that decision since she knew she had been horrible to deal with in the past and it was a fair punishment so she's going to have to either take out a loan or work through college like everybody else, but if her behavior improves and she's able to fix her relationship with us. I'm going to take care of the last couple of semesters. I think it's a fair deal and she's already accepted it. Now, all we have to do is wait and watch if she's actually going to be better now or if it's all talk. Update 2, hello.

So it's been a couple of months since my last update and I'm really happy to tell you guys that things have been going great between Jade and me. Even Jade and Carol have been getting along quite well, which is a lot of very shocking. A couple of weeks after I posted that last update and Jade had returned home, things started getting better because Jade started putting more effort into speaking to us. For the first couple of weeks came back, she was very distant and did not speak to anybody properly. But one day, while Jade was at home, I was at work, and Carol had a day off. The two of them spent the day together at home, and when I came back, I was very surprised to see them,

laughing and chilling on the couch like old friends. Jade told me later that night that she had a fun time with Carol and regretted the fact that she hadn't even put in an effort to get along with this woman in the past just because of her own preconceived notions. But now, she was going to make sure that it changed. And when I spoke to Carol that night, she had tears in her eyes and said that she had never wanted to replace Jade's mother, but she had always wanted to feel like she was really a part of the family and not just my wife and it was finally happening. I was overjoyed because two of my favorite people were finally getting along.

And up until this moment, everything has been so surreal that it really feels like a dream. Jade could only spend a couple of weeks back home because she had to start college, but those few weeks were enough for us to reestablish a good relationship again. Even when she went off to college, both Carol and I went to drop her off and we had a tearful goodbye, which was pretty embarrassing for her later since a couple of people from her year saw her. Anyway, we get on FaceTime every once in a while and keep each other updated on our lives and it's been great so far. And I'm really keeping my fingers crossed that it continues to stay this way because after a long time,

I feel like I'm truly happy and I feel like I'm walking on Cloud 9, to be honest. I've even been speaking to her therapist and she has told me that she has shown a lot of progress in the past few weeks and I'm really proud of her for that. It just goes to show that it's never too late to reconcile with people who you thought were lost and this might not be the case for every family, but I know that I was right to not give up hope in my daughter's case and now we are as happy as any other family and I couldn't have asked for more. Update 3. Hello. So a lot of you were asking me about what happened to Alice after my last update because I had not spoken about her or even mentioned her. Well, that was intentional. I wanted to make sure that that update was positive and did me. not include any of the negativity on purpose. But since you guys seem to want to know, she is not

part of the family anymore. And this time, I think it's pretty permanent. After Jade came back home and told us how Alice had been the one to turn her against our family and manipulated her into believing that I was against her and she needed to stand up to me, I told my in-laws, her parents, all about it. We found out that she was really putting herself in a risky position by doing this since she was heavily reliant on her parents for money. So after the fiasco with my daughter, my in-laws decided to cut Alice off and told her that they would not be writing her any checks anymore. She got pissed off and brought up how it was their fault that she did not have a well-paying

job because they were not able to send her to college on time and I think that's ridiculous because I know plenty of people who have not even been to college but still lead a respectable life and don't have to count on their parents. I think it has more to do with the fact that she is lazy and doesn't want to do anything that involves any amount of hard work to improve her situation. So I don't think she has anybody to blame but herself, no matter how hard she tries to make it seem like it was her parents' fault that she ended up like this. My ex had never been the golden child, like she insists, both of them had been treated pretty equally, and I can vouch for that. But she literally always wants to victimize herself and act like everything that has

happened to her is somebody else's fault. Anyway, she has been cut off by her family now, and the only way she can survive on her own is if she decides to step up and work hard. I don't even understand why she thought it was a good idea to try and turn my daughter against me when she was still dependent on her family for financial support. It was a stupid decision on her part, and now she's going to have to suffer the consequences of doing that. I'm just lucky that she has no access to me, so she can't bother me and try to guilt

trip me or blame me for what has happened. Because I'm sure that if she had a way, she would definitely go all out and try to make me look like the bad guy. I'm surprised that she hasn't even tried to put up a post or whatever yet, but I guess she's going to hold out on that since she is still trying to plead with my in-laws and get them to go back to supporting her. But they have made up their minds and have said that she's old enough now, if she still doesn't know how to take care of herself, then it's not their problem anymore. I think that's the right and at this point, pretty much the only way to deal with her. Now, talking about my family, things have been great as I mentioned in my last update. That was just a week ago and this weekend, Jade came

back home three days back and said that she wanted to take a road trip with us. It was very impulsive and very out of the blue and initially, we were kind of skeptical about it, but after giving it some thought, we decided to finally go. Because life is short, we need to make the most of the time that we have and Jade has expressed interest in going out somewhere with us after ages and we really wanted to bond. She said that she was sick of speaking to us on the phone and she just wanted to hang out with us for some time because she was getting kind of lonely in college. Her roommate was away for a few days, spending time with her family, so she wanted to spend some time with us as well. So we left last morning and after a six-hour drive, we are finally

at the beach. Everything was pretty last minute, but we meant to do. managed to find a good room in a hotel and we're going to spend the next two days in the water and then we're going back home and she's going to go back to college. She's going to miss a few days of college, but she doesn't even seem to care about that because she's just so happy to be here with us. This morning, when we were at the beach, I saw Jade and Carol having the time of their lives in the water and they were splashing each other and laughing like crazy. I can't even tell you guys how happy it made me feel. I felt like I was finally content. And, I can't explain it, there was a warm, glowy feeling in my chest and then I joined them and we had fun together as a family. In about half an hour, we are going to go out shopping and then we're going to go for dinner. Life is pretty amazing right now and I just want to freeze this moment in time and stay right here forever. I know that I can't do that and we're going to have to go back to a normal life in a few days, but for now, I just want to pretend like this is something that we can live in forever and yeah, I'm just very happy. No complaints anymore, ha ha ha.

I hope you enjoy this story. Spouse began requesting genetic examinations following his pal's spouse being unfaithful. However, I then discovered that he was actually betrothed to an expecting lady who mistook me for his former spouse. Greetings everyone. I-34F have been with Ken not his real name 37M since I was 16. We met in school as he was my brother's friend. We have been married for 10 years. Have a two-year-old son and one on the way.

Ken has always been my person. The person who you can't picture life without and I honestly can't remember not loving him. I grew up with him, he's my everything. Unfortunately, Ken has this issue where he takes on everyone else's feelings like to heart. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, however recently his best friend of 20 years has just found out that his wife has been cheating on him and none of the children are he. his. Obviously his friend is devastated and is staying in our guest room. He's a nice guy just life has him down right now. He started the process of divorce. The more time Ken spends with his friend the more depressed he's become and distant. Our mornings used to start where I would wake up at 6 a.m.

with our son make breakfast then about 8 a.m. I could wake Ken up with a coffee and some breakfast before going to drop little one off at nursery and go to work. Ken works from home most is only going into the office on a Monday. So I'd give him his coffee he'd give me a kiss and then I'd go off on my happy little way. Then I'd finish work, get our son and go home where Ken would be making tea. I'd clean up after whilst he was bathing our son and putting him to bed. I thought this was life, it might sound boring to some but it was my life and I loved it. Our house was filled with love. We would spend our nights cuddling, talking watching a movie. date night once a month. We would take our son out together on a Saturday and then Sunday go visit

family or have friends over. You get the picture I'm rambling. Sorry. Anyway, for the past month things have been, changing. Ken is more depressed. I make him a coffee in the morning and just get a mumble, thanks. I'd come home from work and the friend and him would be in the living room watching sports. I'm now making tea. bathing our son, neither of them will barely talk to me. We don't go out on the weekends together I feel like a single parent. I've tried to talk to Ken about it all, but I get one-worded answers. Then he stays up till about 1 a.m., which I know it's not super late, but I'm passed out by then.

I'm exhausted, alone and pregnant. I miss my husband. Yesterday I came home from work and you know when something just doesn't feel right? Well, I went to find Ken to see what he was doing as his friend wasn't in the house, but Ken's car was. He was in his office looking up DNA kits for our son. I asked him why in his response was, well, I just want to make sure all the kids are mine before I continue looking after them as I'm not a free child care. This broke me. When I say I'm devastated, it's an understatement.

But if he thinks that I've cheated on him, then surely the trust is gone. Is there any going back? Am I just being pregnant and hormonal? Would I be extreme for looking for a divorce? I could put the papers in the envelope with the results from the DNA test. I think I'm going to go cry in bed now. Had to take the day off work as I feel like I've just been gut-punched. Update 1. Hello Reddit.

Well, after my post earlier this afternoon I cried, then read all your lovely comments and I couldn't be more grateful. I think posting about it here really helps for some reason. Weird how telling complete strangers that I'm struggling with life seems to help. So I think after my pity party which couldn't last long due to being a parent I called my stepmom and dad. My mom died when I was 10, they are coming to stay with me on Friday. Crying on the phone helped although I'm not really sure they could truly understand a word of what I was saying. I've spoken to Ken, well more like spoke at Ken telling him that his friend is till Thursday to leave. I'm not a monster and can't just tell him to leave at the drop of a hat.

I've also told Ken he needs to leave too. Whilst yes I could go to my dad's house I don't want to disrupt my little one more than needed and all the things for my baby is here too. Especially as I'm eight months along it just seems stupid for me to be the one to leave. I've made it a point of not pointing out it's my house either. I'm trying to be calm and sensible. I'm not 100% sure Ken listened but I did message his saying, sister who is a force to be reckoned with and she said she will make sure he's gone by Thursday night.

Things I've told Ken I want is yes he can have the DNA test, but I will be damned if I'm the one to do it. He can also have one for the baby as I ain't got shit to hide. I know that some people have questioned why I'm so against it. Let me make something clear. I would never cheat because as I said in my last post Ken is slash or was I to know, my person. He's the only man I've ever been with. So that isn't any concern of mine. I'm just hurt that he wants one because clearly he doesn't trust me. So things I want. I want him to have the DNA tests mainly so I can make him eat the results. Not literally, I'm just venting. I'm also going to suggest couples therapy. I already see one due to losing my mom and my little sister in a car crash when I was little.

I want to suggest he sees one alone but you can lead a horse to water but can't make a him drink it. I don't want to force him to do anything he doesn't want to do. I want him to maintain contact with our son. Yes, he doesn't believe he's the father right now, but that's no reason he should neglect him as he's his and I don't want to upset my son. Yeah, he's only two, but still he deserves all the love from both his parents. He's done nothing wrong. Then obviously this one when he or she comes along. Still not sure about the state of my marriage, but even if if divorce is what happens I need to be able to get through to him so he can be the father he was. Am I going insane? Do I sound insane? I don't know why writing here helps so much.

Thanks Reddit. Update 2. Hello again. Following my two other posts I will answer some questions. Yes, it is my house. It was left to me when my mom died. I have lived here all my life. I didn't move out because I have a child and one on the way, so why should I be the one to leave? I get that some people believe I was the awe for asking him to leave, but as I was heavily pregnant, have a toddler and it's my house I wasn't about to leave. Yes, he could have stayed living with someone who just wants to argue or just not talk. I prefer my child not to live in that environment. Thank you.

At the end of the day I'm a mother first and a wife second. If you think that's harsh, then I don't know what to tell you. My children come first end of. Well, Ken's friend did leave the day I told him he had till Thursday. He wasn't happy about it and shouted some insults at me, which was amazing. Ken's sister came and picked up Ken. I wish I could tell you what she said, but she didn't say anything in front of me just kept giving Ken death stares. We did get the DNA test for Little One and Ken is the father, obviously.

Ken somehow thinks I've intercepted the results even though I wasn't the one that did it. I wasn't the one that got handed the results X, so he's clearly lost his mind. My dad came over and whilst I was making tea my waters broke. My little girl is he or she healthy and happy. She was nine pounds at ounces, so no concern of anything with her. I'm now a mum of two. I am home now and Ken has been to see his baby girl, although as she's not had a DNA test he disagrees with her being his

because his family doesn't have many girls yet he has a sister, so I just rolled my eyes. I don't really know where to go from here. Ken is refusing therapy, he says there's nothing wrong with him or his brain. I beg to differ. He wants to get another DNA test for our boy but won't tell me when or where so I can't interfere. Maybe one day he will come to his senses. My dad and stepmom are staying with me for a while to help me with the babies. I'd like to say I'm okay, but honestly my emotions are all over the show I don't know which was his up.

Ken's sister visits the babies and we have an unspoken rule that we don't speak about Ken apart from when our son asks about him. I wish it was the kind of update where he got the results seen how much of an idiot he's been and we move on but sadly that's not the case. I can't dwell on it too much, just take shit one day at a time. I do miss my person and worry that he's missing out on his baby girl's life already which if I think about too much I will just sit and cry but I don't have time for that. As always thanks for listening to me rant. I might update if anything else happens in my life. Right now I'm still left wondering if I'm doing the right thing here. Is there anything I could do differently?

Why are my kids so hard for him to accept all of a sudden? Update 3. Hello again Reddit. Things have been bizarre but now I have closure. I know what's happened to my marriage. I know what scum can really is. He's not my person and never truly was. So now I just want to divorce him, cut my loses and move on with my life.

I'm still at home with my babies settling into motherhood. My dad and stepmom are still here, but they will be leaving soon once I'm more emotionally stable. To say I'm okay would be a lie, but I now know what I need to do. I have some sort of closure with Ken. I know what happened with him and I know that it's not my fault. Turns out Ken was having an affair, and has a baby on the way. Even typing that makes me want to throw up.

I found this out when a visibly pregnant lady just knocked on my door and asked me when I would be leaving the house as it's Ken's house. When I say this confused the crap out of me, I mean it. I talked to this woman for a while to try to work out what she was talking about. It turns out that she's Ken's side piece. Well, technically in her head, she's his fiancé. A month ago, Ken got down on one knee and proposed to her and my fucking. kitchen, classy right? So they have been seeing each other for a while. She's having his baby.

She believes I'm the ex-wife who Ken is letting him stay in his house till I get on my feet. We apparently broke up a few years ago and none of my kids are Ken's. When I go to work in the mornings Ken goes to her house and works from there. They were waiting for marriage to move and together. How are you trying to marry someone when you are already married? Fucking weirdo. I asked for proof of all this. She has pictures of them together. Apparently she has a of account that they make content together. I told her we are still married and explained everything to her.

I'm not sure what she's going to do. But hey, not my circus, not my monkey. Now I want a divorce. Is it true that once you talk to a solicitor about divorce, they can't represent the person you divorce? I want to go around our town and meet with as many solicitors as possible as the first hour is free so that he has a very hard time getting representation. Is that too petty?

The house is in my name only and is protected so there is no way he can take it. I have all my money and we do have a joint account, but that's just what we put our share of household bills in. I haven't spoken directly with Ken. His family have completely cut him off and he's been kicked out of his sister's house. All those people that was concerned about him having tumor or something wrong with his brain, I really don't think that's the case. I think his actions just caught up to him as his lies were going to come out once his baby was born.

I think that's what happened. He got backed into a corner and tried to fight his way out. Through divorce process, I will get the court to do DNA testing so he is proof for both. Even if he chooses to not believe it. I'm mentally exhausted from all of this and sat wondering how I didn't notice. Might have to go for an I test. But honestly would I be so wrong for just making his life as difficult as possible to get legal advice or is that too far? I want him to suffer.

Update December 4th 1st, 2024. Well, hello there again, Reddit. I'm okay. I totally just forgot about my ramblings on here, L.O.L. I'm doing okay. I'm officially divorced from Ken. It took a long time to get to this part of my life and some points I actually felt. like I was drowning. Both of my kids had a DNA test through the courts and they are Ken's.

He still doesn't believe it. Not my problem though. Ken is now in prison for domestic abuse. I'm not 100% on the details because I wasn't involved. It was his side piece. I'd love to say that sometimes I don't break down in tears and I'm completely over it. But I'm not. I've now gone back to work though after my maternity leave was finished. I got a promotion. And now I'm used to living with just us three. My kids keep me going and I'm so proud of them. They go visit their grandparents and dad's side of the family

and they have been so lovely and supportive. His sister is still amazing. I don't really know what else to say. Just I'm okay. I'm divorced and my children are thriving. I can't thank Ken for a lot of things, but I'm grateful for my children. Next story, 18-year-old niece announced her engagement to a 36-year-old man who started dating

her when she was 17. When I called him a predator, my entire family said I was jealous. I, 33M, have a pretty big age difference with my brother, 44M. He had a child at 25, which means that I became an uncle at 14. Because we were pretty close in age, I formed a special bond with my niece, Ella, now 18F. When she was 16, my brother and his family moved away so I've been seeing them less recently. But we keep in touch and catch up at family events. Last year, at Christmas, my niece told me that she had a boyfriend and told me a bit about him, but I didn't know the guy. He was invited for Easter

and a couple of other events, but was never able to make it. When we were planning our mother's birthday, my brother decided to invite Ella's boyfriend so that we could all meet him. Yesterday was the birthday. I was looking forward to meeting Mark, Ella's boyfriend, but was very confused when I saw her walk in with a man that looked double her age, spoiler alert, he is. She introduced him to me, and I politely smiled but was deep down very concerned. I went to my brother to ask how old Mark was and he told me that Mark is 36, so literally double

Ella's age. She had told me that he was a bit older but I assumed like early to mid-20s, not almost 40. That's when they called us in the living room to share exciting news. Ella showed us a ring and revealed that they were engaged. I just said what the fuck and everyone turned around and looked at me like I was crazy. I told them that they were out of their minds that they thought this was normal, that there was no world in which a 30-something should date an 18 years old, and that she shouldn't be getting married. All of them accused me of ruining Ella's happiness.

Some even said that I was jealous of Mark, which is so fine. disgusting I can't even explain it. I mean, I'm younger than Mark, but never in a million years would I ever consider dating someone younger than 25. They told me that it was perfectly legal as they were both adults, which isn't true because they'd been dating for a year and Ella turned 18 seven months ago, and that if they were happy that's all that matters. I told them that they were sick for allowing this and that he was a predator but they wouldn't listen. I know this isn't my business, but I can't help but fear for Ella. She is young and doesn't really know what she's getting into.

I'm really scared of her getting married and being unable to leave him when she realizes how sick it was. I then left and slammed the door, and have been receiving pretty wild messages and calls since then. I don't know if I was wrong for this and I'm just overreacting, and if I wasn't wrong I don't know what I can do to make them realize how wrong it is. Ada Update 1, November 9, 2024. So I've taken the past 24 hours. to really reflect on all of this. I tried to take in most of the advice in the comments,

and here's what I have decided. I don't think that me telling her and everyone that the relationship is weird was wrong, I do, however, think that I did it wrong and it was pretty harsh because it was in the heat of the moment. But I still find this very creepy and don't think she should get married. What I've decided to do is, one,

apologize to her. I sent her a text saying I was sorry for my outburst and that I should have thought it through beforehand. I told her that I never wanted to make her feel like I didn't want her to be happy, and that I loved her very much and had her best interests in mind. Two, ask her if we could talk about this. I asked if she would be okay and free to hang out and maybe get coffee this week to talk about all of this with a clear head.

I really want to try and get her to see why it's weird and that maybe marrying him is not a great choice. Three, explain myself to my brother. I sent him a text saying that I was sorry for the way I said it, but that I still thought that it needed to be said. I explained to him why I think Mark is a predator and this relationship could have a very negative and damaging impact on Ella. I'm still waiting on their replies. I'll update when they reply, or when I see Ella, if she accepts, depending on how long it would take. In the meantime, I really want to thank everyone who gave me advice and was constructive, and really tried to help my niece out of this situation. I also send my best to all of the people in the comments sharing similar stories when they were the teenager getting groomed.

I'm so sorry this happened to you and I really hope you're doing better now. Update 2, November 12, 2024. So, following my text, see last post, Ella replied and told me she agreed to meet with me and talk. I just came back from seeing her. Here's how it went. She asked me what I wanted to tell her and I started explaining. that I didn't think her relationship was very healthy, and that no older guy should want to date a teenager.

I told her that she was an incredible woman, so I wasn't saying it was weird that someone would want to marry her, but that guy's my age normally shouldn't even look at a teenager. She wasn't convinced and said that sometimes it's true, but sometimes it's okay. I asked her how she would feel if I told her that someone born today could be her future partner, and she said it felt really weird.

I also asked her if she would consider dating someone younger than 15, and she said no. I could see her starting to realize that Mark maybe didn't have the best intentions. I also asked her if she knew about his previous relationship, and she said vaguely and just told me the girl's name. I asked her if she knew how old the girl was and she said she was 21. I also asked her if she knew that their relationships overlapped and she said that Mark always told her he was single since they met, but she kind of felt like that wasn't true. I told her that since his previous girlfriend was also significantly younger, it seemed like he had a thing for younger girls, which is kind of weird. After discussing that, she told me a bit more about her relationship. She told me she was starting

to feel weird about it because of Mark's recent behavior. I asked what she meant and she said that he had been flirting with a lot of girls, who were all also younger, including some of Ella's friends. When she confronted him, he sort of gaslit her into thinking it wasn't flirting. He was also making a lot of comments about having children with Ella and how cute it would be to see her raise them. She told me she was absolutely not ready for that and also wanted to go to college and work and not be a song. Because of all of that she was doubting her relationship and I told her that I understood. She said she was scared of breaking up with him because he had become her whole life recently and she didn't know what she would do without him. I told her that she was surrounded by people who

loved her and would be there for her and that she was a lot more than just Mark's girlfriend. I said that she knew my opinion on it, but that ultimately the choice was hers, and that I just wanted her to be happy. I also said I would be there for her no matter what. She told me that she will try to break up with him this week, and she'll let me know how it goes. I'll edit this post if I have more info. Also, again, thank you to everyone who gave advice and tried to help us. I really appreciate it. Edit. Okay, so I just want to say, Some people in the comments seem to think that this is fake, and you know what, I can understand. And I don't really care, I'm not asking you to believe that my life is real or fake, and it's great that you don't just believe everything you see online.

But I just want to say this. There are hundreds of people on here or elsewhere that share similar stories. I'm not really affected by people thinking I'm lying, mainly because I'm not the one in that situation. But some people might be. Some people come on here to share something that might have traumatized them, and the last thing they want is for others to think they're lying. So if you don't want to believe me that's fine, but the next time keep that to yourself. It's fine to not believe something, but you don't have to say it, because it might make other people feel really bad. Additional info, loop clarifies details regarding the BF's previous relationship prior to current one with Ella. To explain this in more details, I went through the guy's socials with my friends a few days ago

because we thought there might be other weird things going on and we ended up finding info about his previous relationship, the one right before Ella. So Ella told me at Christmas, so December 24th, that they had been dating for a few months, but when we searched his Facebook we saw a post wishing happy birthday to a girl who he called his baby on December 12th. And this girl appeared in other posts where they were kissing or he was calling her pet name so we assumed she was his GF. Which Ella confirmed afterwards. And this girl also looked very young. He at one point wrote something about her and said as soon as you're done with college, so we knew she was in college. And she looked between 20 and 25. And Ella then confirmed that she was 21.

But yeah, basically it seemed like he was still with his ex while dating Ella. So I asked her if she knew about that. Oop should be prepared to support his niece if she chooses to break up with her BF and distance himself from the family if they are blaming Oop for Ella's breaks up. Yeah, I'm pretty sure if she ends up breaking up with him, which I hope, her dad will blame me for it. Which is the last thing she'll need if she manages to get out of that relationship. I will gladly take the blame, but I'm just scared she'll feel guilty about it and blame herself if she sees that her dad is mad at me. She's a very empathetic kid, which is a really great quality, but sometimes she hurts herself because of it. I hope you enjoy this story.

My guardians demanded payment for lodging and subsequently evicted me to accommodate my favored sibling. As a result, I severed communication with them, but they are now seeking access to my bequest funds, which my grandparents left for me. Hi, I'm an 18-year-old female seeking advice on an incident that happened between me. and my family, which consists of my mom, dad, and my older brother, who will call Brad. I'll begin with some background for a little context. So, I was the second child in a family of extremely high-achieving people. Both my parents are college professors. Brad is six years older than me and has always been my family's miracle child because it was hard for my mom

to get pregnant initially. He has always been this golden child, extremely good at whatever he puts his hands to. When I was born, the bar of expectations for me was set high because of Brad. I am extremely kind and generous, and I involve myself in a lot of social activities. I am not a top scorer or an exceptional athlete, but one thing I know about myself is that I am a good artist. Art has always intrigued me, and that's what I've pursued since a very young age. It was hard for my family to understand that having different interests didn't make me less capable. So according to them, I have been the failure child. The bias since my childhood has been so blatant that even my extended family could sense that I was treated differently. One Christmas

when I was five, while opening the gifts, I obviously went ahead and picked up the bigger box. Even with the repeated insistence of my mother, I didn't leave it, so my dad decided to snatch the box from me in front of everyone. I began to cry, and they tried to shush me with a smaller gift, handed the bigger box to Brad. He got a telescope, whereas I was given a dress, which I had like a hundred of at that point. The next day, my grandparents sent me a dollhouse, realizing what had gone down, and from that day on, they'd been the only people to support me. My brother had just passed high school when I turned 13. He got into a good college, and my parents also decided to move us all to a better house in a suburban and extremely posh location. I wasn't very excited about

the move because that meant my grandparents would be even farther away. Anyway, I had no say in it, so I went along. My parents had saved a good amount of their income for Brad's education, and the new house was taken on a loan. Brad and I didn't have a sour relationship, or a relationship at all, but I still decided to gift him a watch with my saved pocket money as a congratulatory gift. He saw the watch and smiled, only for my dad to intervene and take it away because he had gifted Brad a branded one. Brad didn't say anything, but it broke my heart, so from that day

on, I decided to mind my own business. Every night at dinner was a horror. All my parents could talk about was how great Brad was doing at college. The constant comparison got on my nerves, and I cried about it to my grandparents almost every night. I had previously tried to stay with them instead of my parents, but my parents denied it, suspecting I would be spoiled if they let me stay with my grandparents. Now, it is legal in my state for people to work from the age of 14. So on my birthday that year, instead of making the day special for me, my parents decided to give me a valuable life lesson and suggested that I start working part-time to earn my own expenses since they were tight on money because of the new house. They had ample money to send to Brad for his expenses but were

suddenly short as soon as I reached the legal age to earn. I felt lonely but didn't say anything because I knew there was no point. We moved to the new house in a few months. I had started working at a bookstore and was able to earn better than what most people got for the job due to the extra hours I put in. I had told my grandparents about it, and they were happy knowing I was financially free now but also wished I could move out soon for a better future. Brad, on the other hand, had been causing some trouble. He had gotten into a relationship and was missing classes and stuff, which led to my parents being frustrated at home. Within that week, my parents decided to have a talk with me. They told me that finances had been tough since they bought this house and had to pay for

Brad as well, and they knew I was earning well enough for a part-time job. So they suggested I start contributing to the house with my money in the form of rent. Their explanation was that they were teaching me the ways of the world without necessarily putting the burden on me. I didn't say anything and went to my room. They got a call from my grandparents, who scolded them for treating me this way after I told them about it. They had a long fight, and after two to three hours, both my parents came to my room and asked me to either pay the rent from the next month or find another place to live. My first response was that I was going to stay with my grandparents, but it was too far from my school, and because they were quite old, I decided not. I decided not

to be a burden on them, irrespective of them insisting that I come to their house, and I started giving my parents rent. I would have helped them with the finances if they had asked nicely, but their holier-than-thou attitude was what led to our relationship turning sour. I was just waiting for school to be over so I could move out of their house because after this, I didn't feel any connection to my own family. The next two years were quiet for me. I used to mind my own business and stopped having dinner with my parents. I was doing okay, at school, and with my final year of high school approaching, I could see myself getting into a reputed art school. My parents weren't concerned as long as they were getting their monthly rent,

and they were actually preoccupied with Brad. Brad had just graduated from college and was unwilling to come home to be with his girlfriend. His life had completely derailed after getting into a relationship, with his grades going down by the end of his degree, due to which he couldn't get a good enough job. My parents were pressuring him to come back home, but he went off the grid for two days, and they freaked out at him bailing on them. When they got a call back, they were informed by him that he had married his girlfriend in Vegas. The next few weeks were tough because there were constant arguments at our home regarding this. Brad was trying to convince them to meet his wife once before passing judgment on her, and my parents were just constantly ranting about how he was

bringing shame to our name. I couldn't have been less bothered. just that I started to hang out at my friend's houses more. No one other than my grandparents knew about this. So my parents eventually met Brad and his wife but weren't welcoming. They bitched about the girl after she and Brad left, and I honestly found them pathetic for this, but I wasn't going to involve myself because my last high school year had begun, and there was no way I was going to risk it for their petty fights.

I had started to live at my grandparents' house for weeks at a time because of my toxic household and because I had turned 18. Things changed right before my finals. Things started to go bad between Brad and his wife because of our parents' interference, and they eventually concluded that divorce was the only option. My parents couldn't have been happier and blamed everything that was wrong with Brad on his now ex-wife. I was asked to pay for my parents' trip to Brad's city to bring him back home, which I clearly said no to. They weren't pleased but arranged funds from somewhere else to get Brad back.

A detail I didn't mention was that this new house we had moved to only had two bedrooms. So when Brad was brought back, my parents asked me to shift to the hall for the time being since I was about to leave for college in a few months. They clearly didn't care about me or my education and how this shift could affect me but wished for their golden child to have access to everything to start fresh. Because I was paying rent to them, I told them that this arrangement wasn't acceptable to me so close to my finals. They suggested that if this wasn't good enough for me, then I could go stay at my grandparents' house like I had been doing for the past few months, just that I would still have to pay the rent because most of my stuff would still be at the house. I expected Brad to say something, but he didn't bat an eye at our parents treating me like this. I couldn't believe how cruel my own family was being to me, but I decided to stay strong. I went straight to my room, packed all the stuff I needed, and called a cab to leave their house.

While leaving, I asked them to do whatever they wanted with the stuff I left because I wasn't going to pay a single penny to help their poor selves and fund their child who couldn't do anything in his life. I had already called an Uber, so I stormed out. I called my grandparents on the way and explained everything to them and how I was coming to their house. They welcomed me with open arms and provided me with a safe space. They had gotten calls from my dad asking if I was there so that they could come there to ridicule me after I humiliated them. but my grandparents lied about me not being there and asked my parents not to bother them. The next morning, I saw I had gotten a few calls from them. But over the week, the number of calls started to decrease, meaning they didn't really care if I was doing okay, so in reciprocation, I went no contact with them.

I studied hard for my finals and passed with good grades. I had also applied to colleges and was awaiting the results. One day when I came back home to my grandparents' house, I was surprised to find my parents sitting there, waiting for me. As soon as they saw me, my mom started to cry, and my dad, in an angry yet sad voice, began to berate me and called me the worst daughter ever because I abandoned them in their time of need and didn't help them financially when I could have. They were actually at my grandparents' house to ask them for some money because after I stopped paying rent, they were facing difficulties in paying their mortgage.

They're now trying to make me feel like an a-hole by saying that family is everything and I abandoned them. Update 1, thank you to everyone who commented on the original post and understood my situation in that household. Agreeing with y'all, I do believe that my family has been cruel to me and my decision to leave them was right. I'll continue from where I left off. So, my parents had come to my grandparents' house, pleading for money to pay their mortgage. My grandparents were willing to listen to them but decided against it after they saw my parents blaming me for everything. Once my father called me the worst daughter ever, my grandpa lost it and gave it back to him in his own words. He told my father that he had been a terrible parent to me

since my childhood because he expected too much of me. Grandpa kept going and let him know how everyone in our extended family pitted me because of how I was treated as a child. My parents tried to argue back but were shut down quickly when they were reminded of how they kicked me out to have their good-for-nothing son Brad back. Somehow he wasn't a liability to them, but I was. My grandfather then broke the news to those he told them that he has over the years seen me grow into this wonderful person and so has decided to give me my parents' share of the property and his will. My parents' jaws were touching the floor at this point. Realizing that they didn't have any other option, they began to shed crocodile tears and tried to convince my grandma to

give them back their share. She reminded them that karma hit them in the face for what they did to me and that she had no regrets. My parents then began to beg me to convince my grandparents. They didn't once apologize for their nasty comments but expected me to treat them nicely because they were family. Because I have been a fairly docile person all my life, they expected me to be kind to them. But on seeing how hard my grandparents were trying to fight for me, I grew a spine and let them know that there was no way they deserved a kid like me and that maybe they could expect funds from their golden child whose life they chose to destroy. They got extremely quiet all of a sudden and then began screaming at me, calling me names and wishing I was never born. My grandparents were done with them and asked them to leave before the cops were called.

My parents left, all flustered. I began to cry and profusely thank my grandparents for being my actual parents and that I didn't wish for their money after all they had done from me. me. They consoled me and let me know that they had made up their mind long ago when they saw how selfish my parents were. They had also saved some money for Brad because he was their grandchild, after all, but there was no way any of it could be accessed by my parents. They asked me not to care much about it all and to focus on my future, which I did. As I mentioned before, I had applied to a few colleges and fortunately got accepted into the best one. I decided to apply for a student loan, but after deliberating with my grandparents, I realized they were extremely wealthy and insisted

on paying my tuition, to which, after a little hesitation, I agreed. I was going to leave in a month when the session began. About my parents and Brad, I hadn't heard about them so far and was happy things were working out this way because it was the first time I was feeling fully confident in myself. I was glad I had chosen to cut contact with them because no matter who it is, toxic people do make your lives miserable. Update 2, I thought the drama was over, but I was way off on that assumption. Since the last update, which was a week ago, I hadn't really heard from my family until one day I received an email from Brad.

He mentioned in the email that he didn't have my number and wished to meet me once to talk. At first, I was a bit hesitant because honestly, we never really had a relationship, but then I brushed aside my worries and reminded myself that I had my grandparents with me. me. I replied affirmatively and we decided to meet for lunch at a local cafe. I had reached the location before Brad and was contemplating my decision to meet him. I chickened out and was about to leave when he showed up. He was looking pretty tired and had grown a stubble. It clearly looked like he wasn't doing okay. The first few minutes were a bit awkward, but I decided to initiate the conversation. Then he began talking, and boy, did I get some tea.

So, he told me that the house was a mess since my parents found out we weren't getting anything from our grandparents. For the first few days, the blame was on me, and then it shifted to them fighting each other. Brad, who had already been going through a tough divorce, couldn't handle it all and had left the house and had been staying at a friend's. The day before, he visited home and saw the state of the house. It looked like a bachelor's pad that hadn't been cleaned in months. Both the parents weren't at their jobs but sitting inside the home, engaging in day drinking.

Brad went ahead and cleaned the house, to which our parents replied that there wasn't a need for it because the house would be taken away in a few days as they couldn't afford it anymore. I felt extremely awkward hearing all this and didn't know how to respond because I had been in situations worse than this because of my parents and sometimes Brad, and there was no one other than my grandparents to console me. me. But I didn't wish to sound unsympathetic, so I nodded. Brad thought that I was sympathizing with him and kept talking, leading to him discussing his personal life. He told me that he had gone to meet his ex-wife secretly a few months back, and they ended up in the same hotel room. He said he had gotten a call from her yesterday, informing him that she was pregnant and wanted

to keep the child while rekindling their relationship. Now, he revealed the actual reason why he wished to meet me. He told him. He told him. He was pregnant. He told him. He was pregnant. He told him, he was he told him, he told him, he was he told me that since I had gotten money from our grandparents recently, maybe I could give a tiny share of it to our parents and some of it to him so that my parents would finally be able to get their lives together and he could begin fresh with his upcoming parenthood. He reasoned that this was going to be a favor he'd return as soon as he could, and maybe I could do this for my brother in the spirit of our relationship. Sitting there, I couldn't believe his audacity.

I thought all this while that he needed an ear, but he was actually there for money. I lost it at that point and decided to be petty. I reminded him that no one was there for me my whole life, and I remember him standing quietly when our parents were kicking me out, so he better not disgrace the word family with his filthy mouth and asked shamelessly for money from me. I also told him that it was our parents who were the reason for their divorce because they deliberately interfered by filling his ears the parents he was asking money for.

Before he could say anything, I left money for my portion of the order and walked out. I went back to my grandparents' house and told them everything. They said they thought Brad was different, but as they say, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Although my grandparents are still concerned about his ex-wife and his child, I think the fault was mine this time because I chose to respond to Brad and meet him, but there was no way I was going to entertain them any further. Update 3. This update is a week from the last one. I'll be moving to my college within the next two weeks.

So the last time, I talked about how I reminded Brad of his place when he tried to ask for money from me. Everything I'm stating now is what I heard from my grandparents, who heard it from my aunt, who heard it directly from the source, Brad. After I told Brad about our parents' involvement in him getting the divorce, he went home angry and confronted our parents. They tried to calm him down and convince him that whatever they did was for his good, but he digressed and decided to leave them for good. They tried calling my grandparents to intervene and stop Brad from leaving, but they told our parents about the ex-wife's pregnancy and how there was no way Brad could be stopped now.

My parents also had to vacate their house because they were unable to afford the high mortgage, and they had now moved to a very low-profile area. As far as I know, Brad had left to stay at his ex-wife's house, at least until he gets himself together, and after that, they might think about getting back together. Now, what I'm going to narrate has happened pretty recently, and I'm still quite upset about it. So, after Brad left, my parents somehow realized, or assumed, that it was me who told Brad everything and was the reason they were in such a fix in the first place. They decided to warn everyone against me and wrote a pretty delusional post calling me not only an illegitimate child but also a burden. They thought their posting such filth would garner them some sympathy, but people who had seen my

childhood read that post and wrote some nasty comments about my parents, saying how undeserving they were of a child like me. A few who didn't know anything rang me up and chose some choice words to remind me how ungrateful I was as a child, and I replied to them, saying if they don't know me, their opinion doesn't mean two cents to me. It offended most of them, but honestly, I didn't care enough. The only thing I was quite sad about was my parents thinking so lowly of me. I had always tried to be what they wanted me to become, only for them to blame everything wrong in their lives on me. I cried to my grandparents about it, who said they would make sure I wouldn't have to tolerate my parents once I left the city to study. Now, since my parents planned to defame me to their

advantage had failed, they tried to use the legal route to get back the inheritance they had lost. The lawyer was a family lawyer and had a great relationship with my grandparents. He gave my parents a reality check and asked them to stop humoring themselves, leaving them embarrassed. Then he told my grandpa about it, who narrated the incident to us as a funny story. I don't think my parents' shenanigans are going to stop, but I hope things don't get any worse for me, at least until I leave. After I leave, I will officially be done with them, and none of it would be my business, which, to be honest, is a pretty exciting prospect at this point. Update 4

So, I am writing this update after a month. I am now living in the dorm of my college and having an excellent time adjusting to this new life away from the toxicity. I have still been in constant touch with my grandparents, which is why I am able to write this update. Before I begin, I'd like to answer a question that was being asked a lot. A lot of the comments mentioned that my parents are professors and wondered how it was possible for them to run out of money to pay the mortgage. I think people have underestimated how bad their financial planning was. The new house we moved to was extremely costly, way beyond what our parents earned. They thought they'd be able to pay through their savings but were way off in their calculations,

and that's why they were facing such a financial crisis now. Now, about the situation with my parents. They have been bad-mouthing me to anyone and everyone, but most people have not been taking them seriously after their post. Brad, on the other hand, lived with his ex-wife for like two weeks and came back to our hometown in hopes of better opportunities. He had taken some money from his ex-wife and was searching for places to live because he didn't wish to go back home to my parents. My grandparents offered him their place to stay until he found a job, and he accepted. When they asked him about his future plans, he told them that he still plans to get back with his ex-wife for the sake of their family.

Our parents tried to get in touch with him, but he outright asked them to get their act together before they tried to be a part of his life. My grandparents mentioned to me that they wished to help Brad out because they could feel his desire to change and were going to offer him some money once he got a job. I didn't give any opinions but trusted my grandparents for their best judgment. A few days later, I came back to my grandparents' house to collect some stuff I didn't take in the first go. I also gifted them a painting I made, which they forcefully paid me.

me for as a token for my first sale as an artist. I thanked them and got a bit emotional, remembering how my parents used to ask for money from me when I was just a child. My grandfather, on hearing this, mentioned how he found my parents taking rent from me absurd in the first place because they didn't have any expenses other than groceries. I asked him what he was talking about, and he told me that he had set up a fund for my and Brad's education since middle school, and that was what paid for most of our school and Brad's college expenses, with my parents having full control over it. This came as a huge surprise to me because I was told since my childhood that I should start paying up ASAP to reduce the burden on my parents and handle my own expenses.

I told my grandfather that I had no idea of this, and he took it into his hands to confront my parents. Brad was still living there and had come back after his day of job searching around the town. My grandma invited my parents, and what unfolded was something we didn't expect. When my parents showed up, Grandpa sat them down and asked them about the fund for my and Brad's education and our presence. They tried to cover by saying how it was used as intended, but on being asked further about why I had to contribute, they broke down. They admitted to using all that money for their own enjoyment and activities, never once thinking about how that would affect us. I couldn't believe how my own parents could be this selfish. After listening to everything they had to say,

I made it very clear that I wanted nothing to do with them. Even if I ever, which is not a huge possibility at this moment, decide to have a relationship with them in the future, it will be on my terms. The next day, as I was packing to go back to college, Brad came to my room and apologized to me for everything, and for not being there as a big brother. He said I was still family to him and he would love it if his child could get to have time with their aunt. I decided to forgive him and slowly build our non-existent relationship.

My grandparents were happy that we were trying to patch things up, and honestly, if my grandparents weren't there for me, I don't know where I would have been by now. So, I have decided to dedicate my first professional painting collection to them. I hope you enjoy this story. Guardians evicted me for refusing to hand over my university funds to my sibling, only to discover that an unknown benefactor was covertly aiding my sibling and our guardians had deceived me about the situation. Family has been going through a bit of a rough patch financially recently, and I was nice enough to take up a job, so I could pay my way through college but their expectations are too unrealistic in just last week, they told me that I needed to dip into

my college savings and help my sister out because she was about to move into a new house, but was running low on money. So, for context, my dad quit his job a couple of years ago to start a new business. Unfortunately, right around that time, COVID hit and his business was not able to take off the way he had expected. But he did not give up hope and continue to work hard on it, and he is still at it and slowly, but surely, they are doing better. So that's great news for him, but that also means that we didn't have enough money to maintain our lifestyle for a really long time. My mother has always been a psalm, so her starting to work was out of the question because that was not something that she wanted. And our parents told us that we had to figure out a way to live

on our own. They would support us until we were 18, but after that, it would be difficult for them to set aside funds for their own retirement as well as take care of us. Already they had used up a significant amount from their savings so that we could live the way we were used to during the lockdown and stuff, so my sister and I were supposed to look after ourselves after we turned 18. A couple of weeks ago, I finally graduated high school and I am 18 right now, so I knew that I would have to cover the expenses of going to college by myself. I had it all sorted out because I had been working ever since I was 16 and had done a couple of internships, so I had managed to save the money from that and maybe it wasn't enough to cover college,

but with a student loan, I would get by easily. My sister is 22 right now, and she recently graduated. She had also taken out a student loan, but she didn't have any savings of her own. Even while she was in college, she did not bother to work, and that's totally her call, I'm not going to judge her for it. But what I am judging her for is expecting me, her younger brother, to cover the rent for her first house now that she's moving out of my parents' house for work. She and a couple of her friends from high school are getting a house and all of them have paid their shares, but she is just a couple thousand dollars short of the amount that is expected from her. And she doesn't want to tell her friends that her family isn't exactly financially stable right now,

because that would be pretty embarrassing for her. Although I really don't understand that, if they are really her friends, why would they judge her? Anyway, that's the reason her friends can't cover her for now, and then she would have to pay them back later. My parents have already told us that after return 18, we should not be expecting any sort of financial support from them, so that leaves me. The worst part is that she didn't even come to me herself to ask for the money, but she told our parents that this was what she needed and got them to speak to me instead. Full disclosure, my sister, and I don't really get along well. We are just really different, and I was kind of glad when she told us that she would be moving out

because having her move back in after she graduated from college for a couple of weeks until she found a job was pretty tiring for me. Last week, when this happened, we were all living together. I'm going to start college in a couple of months, and I already have my uncle and aunt who have signed off on the loan. And my sister was supposed to move out a couple of days back, although I don't really know what happened with that. Three days before she was supposed to move out, my parents came to my room and told me about how she was just short of a couple of thousand dollars and they knew that I had been saving money for college, so they wanted me to just dip into those savings for this. and help my sister out. They even reassured me that she would pay me back at the earliest,

even though she could have just spoken to me herself, and it would have been much more respectful. To be honest, I didn't even know how she could afford the rent at all. Because from what I know, she hadn't worked a day, and I didn't think that she had any savings of her own, but apparently she did. It was just not enough, though, but that was not my problem. And I told my parents that it was her own fault that she hadn't worked

when she was in college, even though she knew that our parents would not be supporting us as adults. Now, her not being able to afford rent for her first house was a problem that she herself had created, and she was going to have to deal with this on her own. Besides, covering my college expenses was way more important than her being able to move into a house with her friends. I thought that my parents would be reasonable enough and understand why I did not want to share my savings with her because so far, they have never been the kind of parents who have treated my sister and I differently. But instead, they started throwing a fit about how I was acting and told me that I was being really selfish. They had thought that it would be easy enough to convince me, I don't know why,

and when I refused to help her out, they started fighting with me. After a really bad argument with my parents regarding this, my dad just snapped at one point, and he told me that if I was going to be selfish and not share my savings with my sister, then that would just mean that I did not value my family as much as they had expected me to. So then, even they would behave the same way with me and be selfish and ask me to leave the house. Basically, my only two options were to either help my sister out and share my savings with her or get kicked out. I chose the second option because honestly, that was really humiliating for me. I had never expected my parents to use the fact that I was relying on them for a while, at least until I made it to college, against me. But I guess their

priority was my sister right now and I'm not sure, but I think it was because they didn't want anyone to know that our family hasn't been doing well financially. And if my sister had been honest with her friends and had them cover for her, she would have had to tell them all about our financial situation and since these are her friends from high school, their parents would have found out as well. And their parents know my parents pretty well since it's a pretty small and close-knit neighborhood. So I guess that's why they did not want my sister telling anyone about what was going on. In fact, they had put in a lot of effort into hiding the fact that we were struggling financially. Not even anyone in the family knew about it, except for my uncle and his wife.

My uncle is my dad's older brother and since he had been one of the first investors in my dad's business, of course, he knows about it. Initially, my dad had even been against the idea of me having my uncle become a co-signer on the loan application but had to agree with it eventually since being a co-signer on both my and my sister's applications could backfire. So even though he did not like the idea of being even more in debt to my uncle, he had to let me go to him for help. And it wasn't even like I was going to college nearby, I was going to college out of state so that was going to be even more expensive. Anyway, I knew that their reputation meant a lot to them. And I knew that they were going to extreme lengths to make sure that nobody found out about how they were struggling.

And after the fight that I had with my parents, and I left home, I still couldn't deal with the fact that they had just kicked me out because I refused to play by their rules. It was insulting and humiliating, and so, I decided to take advantage of the fact that their reputation and the money meant so much to them. After that argument, I started packing my things immediately, and my parents did not even make an effort to stop me. That night itself, I had packed all the things that I needed and stuffed them into a bag then got a cab and headed to my uncle's place. I did feel a bit guilty about bothering him constantly, but when I got there and explained the situation to him, he told me that I was welcome to live with him and his wife for as long as I wanted to. Their kids were grown up and living independently, so I'm staying in my cousin's room right now.

When I had left, my parents had been standing at the door and they did not try to stop me. Even when my uncle called my father up to speak to him about what was going on with me, my dad made it sufficiently clear that if I was not going to think about my family and put them first, then they had no place for me in their house. It was ironic that they were calling me selfish, but in my opinion, they were the ones who were actually being selfish. So for the past week, I've been living with my uncle and they have been nice enough, but that has still not helped to take my mind off of things.

My uncle and my aunt keep telling me that things are going to be all right and that they are positive that my parents are going to come to their senses eventually and apologize to me, but I'm not so sure anymore. And last evening, I had been feeling particularly low and then, I don't know what came over me and I just decided that I needed to talk about this. But I was feeling really vindictive as well, so instead of venting to my friends, I decided to post and spill all the tea. I typed out a post with every little detail of what had happened and completely exposed my parents and then I hit the post button. After that, I kept my phone aside, and I went out for a walk because I knew that as soon as they found out about the post, my parents would start blowing my phone up. I hadn't blocked them anywhere so far, because I had been expecting them to reach out to me at some point, but in the past week, they had not even bothered to check on me. Anyway, when I came back home from my walk after about 30 minutes, my uncle and my aunt were both pretty serious and they told me that they had read my post and they didn't feel like it was necessary right now. But since I had already posted it without even speaking to them about it, all I could do was apologize to them for not letting them know, but I was just feeling really depressed and I wanted to get back at my parents somehow.

They looked a little disappointed but didn't say much, so at least I am good on that end. But then, when I went back to my phone, I saw that I had several missed calls and messages from my parents, just as I had expected. All of the messages were along the same lines, that they had been right to ask me to leave the house because it was very obvious that I could not think about anyone apart from myself and that I was really selfish and with this post, I proved that I was also a bad person. They were accusing me of ruining their reputation by making it sound like they were the bad guys here and that they had kicked me out on purpose, even though it had been my choice to leave

because I would rather abandon my family when they needed my health than actually stand up like a man and be there for them. Most of the messages were really angry, and I felt kind of vindicated because at least now, they were feeling exactly how betrayed and let down I had been for the past week. And then, while I was reading the messages, I received a call for my mother again, and I decided to pick it up this time. As soon as I answered the phone, I regret because she was crying as if someone had died and I could hear my dad screaming at me in the background. He was cussing me out while my mother tried to speak to me through tears. It was kind of difficult to understand what she was saying, but I was able to make out that she was trying to get me to take that post down

because a lot of our relatives had messaged them that it was unacceptable for them to try and force me to help them out financially because I was still really young. And I had my own future to think about and instead of helping that daughter out, they were trying to take money from one ticket to give it to the other, and that was not fair. My mother was trying to make it sound like I hadn't told the entire story in my post and was acting as if I had framed the story in such a way that made them look like the villains, but honestly, I had only shared my side and I don't think it was my fault that our relatives did not agree with their behavior. And also, this is social media, I can share whatever I want to,

but at least I had the decency of putting out the full truth and not hiding any details. But my mother started telling me that if I was sharing my side of the story, then I also should have shared how they had always supported me and my sister when it was possible for them, but now, they were only expecting us to help each other out because it was difficult for them to do so. She wanted me to put up a post about how extravagantly we lived while our father was supporting us. And then, I started feeling really guilty because that was true, both my sister and I had been

spoiled by our parents and they had left no stone unturned to make sure. that we were well cared for when my dad was making a lot of money. But even then, I don't think that excuse is the kind of behavior that I have had to face recently. Most importantly, my parents were upset because I decided to go public with this information even though I knew that the last thing that they wanted was for people to know that they were struggling with money. So right now, even though I have received a lot of support and love from a lot of family members and friends on social media, I'm still feeling guilty about the conversation that I had with my parents last evening.

And even the way that my uncle and aunt are behaving, it's making me feel bad about what I did and I feel like I should just take that post down. But before I do that, I just wanted to make sure that I'm actually in the wrong and it's not just me being manipulated into thinking that I did something bad. So Ida for putting up a post on social media and exposing my parents and their financial struggle. Edit, my relationship with my sister has not been good for a real. really long time. We used to be close when we were younger, but for the past four or five years, she has been acting really weird and I don't exactly know why. Maybe it's because of the kind of friends she is because from what I know, all of them are really mean and snarky. And even though

she didn't bully me or my friends when we were in school, I know that she had a reputation of being one and that's part of the reason that I don't get along with her anymore because I just can't stand bullies. To be honest, she has changed a lot and I can't say that it's for the better. We hardly even speak anymore in that day. When she decided to send our parents to speak to me about borrowing money, I felt weird because even though we were not exactly on great terms, we were at least on speaking terms and she definitely could have come to me herself. In fact, if she had come to me herself, then I might have actually let her borrow the money. Anyway, she's been really weird about a lot of things recently and her behavior has been very awful.

She has a terrible attitude problem and that's why I don't really speak to her anymore now. Update 1, Hey. So people in the comments had mixed opinions, and eventually, I just decided to go with my gut feeling. I took that post down because even though I had received a lot of support from my relatives, it didn't really mean much. It's not like anybody had actually reached out to me, was just superficial support and I knew that. Also, not even the people who had reached out to my parents to let them know that what they were doing was unfair, had reached out to me. So it was

obvious that it was more important for them to call my parents out on their behavior than actually be there for the person who had been through something. These people just wanted to be a part of the drama and feel included, so I took that post down because I had gotten back at my parents so the purpose had been served. For days have passed since I last spoke to them and I deleted the post this morning. After that, I decided to make things right with my uncle and aunt because I felt like I owed them an explanation, even more than my parents. They had tried to be there for me to the best of their abilities and in spite of that, I hadn't even spoken to them before just making that post. And things had been pretty weird

between us because I knew that they did not agree with my approach. So I woke up super early today, took that post down, and then I made breakfast for them so I could surprise them. And they were pretty surprised, and when I apologized for not speaking to them, they told me that it was fine, they had just been taken aback by the post. They also apologized to me for acting weirdly after that post because they just didn't know what to do or what to say to me to make it better. I guess it has just been a bit of a misunderstanding between us and we decided to talk it through. I told them that I had just been feeling very upset and humiliated by how my parents had treated me and even though I was very grateful to them for being there for me.

I felt like I had to get back at my parents somehow and maybe it was not the right thing to do, but I had to get it out of my system. And they told me that they understood why I had done what I had done, but they didn't necessarily agree with the approach that I had taken by posting about it online for everyone to see. They told me that a lot of people in the family were very jealous of my uncle and my dad because in comparison to them, their lives had been great and a lot of my relatives couldn't stand at so it was natural for them to feel great about the fact that my dad was struggling. And that was part of the reason why he did not want any of this getting out.

So that explained why so many of my relatives had shown me so much support in the comments, but hadn't actually bothered to reach out to me. They were happy about my dad's downfall but couldn't care less about what I was going through. Anyway, that lesson that I had learned and I told them that I had taken that post down. Then, they told me that they were more than happy to have me over because I had always been a good kid and reminded them a lot of their own two sons. When they brought that up, I decided to tell them that I was also really upset with my sister because a huge part of the reason that my parents and I even had that fight that day was because I was upset that she hadn't come to me to ask for the money herself. I wasn't actually hoping to get an explanation about that, I was just venting to them since I hadn't told them about this bit before and neither had. I mentioned that in my post, but when I told them that my sister had sent our parents to me to ask for the money, they started looking very surprised.

It was clear that they knew something so I asked them what was bothering them and they told me that they didn't understand why my sister had felt the need to make my parents ask for money to cover rent because she had already asked them to send her some money for rent and they thought that they'd had covered it all. Then, it was my turn to be surprised because I didn't know about any of that. After speaking to them for a bit more about this, I found out that while my sister had been in college, she knew that my parents were not in a position to support her so any time that she would need, she would contact my uncle and aunt. And she had been relying on them as well. The student loan only covered all the college-related expenses, but of course, people have other expenses as well, and my uncle and aunt had covered all of that. They had never told me about it because my sister had wanted it to be a secret and had promised them that she would

pay them back as soon as she had enough money to do so. And recently, a couple of weeks ago, she had reached out to ask them for a couple of thousand dollars because she was moving into a new house with her friends and needed to cover her share of their rent. They had happily agreed to help her out because she finally had a job and she had told them that she was going to start paying them back now. So now, I'm really confused because if my sister had already borrowed money from my uncle to cover their rent, then why had she asked me to give her money? It just doesn't add up and not even my uncle and aunt have any answers right now. They could talk to her themselves and get to the bottom of this, but they think that it would be better for me to discuss it with her

myself since we clearly have a lot of things to talk about and clear the air between us. And I guess that's exactly what I'll have to do if I want to find out what's going on because this is really fishy. Update 2. So two days have passed since my last update and after a lot of deliberation, I finally decided to speak to my sister because that was the only way to get to the bottom of what was going on. I hadn't blocked her and neither had she, so I just texted her if she would be willing to speak to me and she agreed quite easily. I called her last night and we ended up talking for quite a while because as it turns out, I don't think she had any fault in any of this. So apparently, she had indeed borrowed some money from our uncle to cover part of the rent,

but then, one of her friends just randomly decided that she was going to be living with her boyfriend and not her friends. And that meant that everyone would have to contribute extra for the end because one person had dropped out of their plan and that put her in a bit of a difficult position because the house that they were planning on renting was pretty expensive. So she decided to ask our parents for help, just this once. And she told me that she had asked them to help her out with the money themselves. She hadn't told them to ask me so she had no idea why they had done that

and she didn't even know they had come to me to ask for the money until I told her about it last night. Apparently, my parents had told her that the reason we got into a fight was because I was demanding money from them to add to my college savings and they had refused, and my sister had bought it. She had no idea about the real reason I had fought with our parents, and when she found out, she was shocked. We were able to guess that our parents had probably not wanted to help her out by giving her money from their own pockets, and so, they had come to me and made it sound like she was asking me for help. We worked that out, and after that, we got to talking about our own sibling relationship. I decided to be honest.

with her, and I told her that the reason that I had distanced myself from her was because she had changed a lot as a person and had become very mean and was a bit of a bully. I thought that she was going to deny it and we would get into a fight, but she actually accepted it and said that she knew that she had been terrible in high school but in college. She had changed a lot and she wanted to work on our relationship as well, but I just seemed so closed off that she didn't feel like it would work even if she tried to talk to me. So we decided that we were going to let the past go and and try to work things out for the sake of our future because it was obvious that our parents had taken advantage of the fact that we don't get along and tried to play us against each other.

And for those of you who want to know, she was able to move into the new house with her friends and she had to come up with some lame excuse as to why she only had part of the rent with her, but, thanks to my post, they were able to figure out what was going on with the money anyway and offered to cover for her until she could pay them back. And in spite of what she had believed, her friends actually did not judge her so kudos to them. Anyway, I was able to get to the bottom of what had happened, and as a bonus, I was able to work things out with my sister as well, so I'm quite happy with the situation right now. My parents and I have still not spoken and after what I just found out, I don't think we are going to be on speaking terms any time soon. In fact, I would even say that my sister is probably about to stop speaking to them.

Update 3 so, guys, I recently started college, and I already love it. A good few months have passed since I last spoke to my parents and they have blocked me. I don't know why they blocked me, because judging by their actions, I should have been the one to block them. Anyway, my sister doesn't speak to them anymore, ever since she found out the truth about what happened between me and my parents. But we are trying to actively work on our relationship and go back to being the siblings that we use. used to be. So far, I would say that it's going pretty well and I'm really happy about that. My uncle and aunt have obviously kept in touch with me and it's a really happy coincidence that one of my cousins, one of their sons, recently started working on a project that will require

him to come to my state quite often. So I'm going to see him pretty soon now and I don't even really miss my parents anymore. I do wish that we might be able to make things right someday in the future, but until then, this works just fine with me. I hope you enjoy this story. My guardians labeled me an insignificant individual and cut ties with me for dropping out of medical school. Many years later, they pleaded to attend my marriage ceremony upon discovering I was marrying a wealthy partner.

Guy I, 24F, come from a very, very dysfunctional family. My family has always been toxic, and even though I had cut them off years ago, the issues I developed due to them still linger on and affect my day-to-day productivity. For some background, my father, 54M, graduated with top honors from some of the best universities during his time. It was there he met my mother, who was a stunning woman. She was a waitress in an upscale cafe during those times. They hid it off and got married. It was the classic case of a high-earning man marrying a quintessential beauty. Unfortunately, his paycheck and her looks did not guarantee compatibility. Their marriage is a hot mess for anyone on the inside to witness.

On the outside, they are this power couple that one can only dream of. Another thing about my father is that he is a misogynistic prick. For him, all a woman needs to be is pretty, good at household chores, and capable of producing babies. Lots and lots of babies. And my mother had to comply. They tried and tried but were unable to conceive naturally. My father believed there was something wrong with my mother because she couldn't get pregnant naturally. My mother struggled with this for years, and he would refuse to take her to a doctor, believing women had been having babies without doctors for ages. Why couldn't she?

From what I'd been told, my mom was miserable naturally so. Their marriage was at an all-time low, and my father was hell-bent on having a kid, in particular, a son. He was also unwilling to divorce my mother because he could not bear. the thought of the societal ramifications. He was old-fashioned to the absolute core. Fortunately for my mother and unfortunately for my father they had one child, and that was me. My father was disgusted that after all these years, what he got was a girl. The contempt was obvious. I remember being a kid and asking my mother why dad didn't like me. Every time, my mother came up with a new excuse as to why dad was pissy around me today. Gradually,

I got used to it. Then the impossible happened. He started talking to me, engaging with me, trying to be my best friend. It was weird, and I was scared of him at first, but then I started loving the attention. I was the center of his world, and I loved every minute of it. But this wasn't because he had a sudden change of heart or wanted to be a good father and mend his ways. It took me a long time to realize this. He didn't get close to me for me, because I was his He did it because I was smart. I got good grades in school, and I was bright. I used to understand quickly and draw connections.

Most of my relatives and teachers kept saying I was a bright kid, that I was gifted. This was what he had always wanted a smart and gifted son. But he got a smart and gifted daughter. Suddenly, I was the apple of his eye. Nothing else mattered except me, and I had to work very hard and do great things in life. things in life. That was the cost of his love. I didn't know that at the beginning, but I gradually came to understand it. Whenever I did well in school, I was rewarded not just materially, but he made sure to take time off from work and spend it with me. Whenever I didn't do as well, he would work

extra hours, not come home on time, and not talk to me for days on end. I felt like the only way I could get my father to love me was by being a high achiever. It was psychologically and mentally abusive for me, but that was just how I was brought up, and there was nothing I could do to change it. My mother didn't intervene at all. She kept on watching from the sidelines, knowing full well how much all this impacted me. She didn't have the spine to help me out or take a stand. I was all alone. This went on for a very long time. My father had great dreams for me, and by extension, the family and his reputation. He knew what my future looked like. He knew what my future He had decided everything for me, and I was expected to follow it to the tea.

When I was 12, he sat me down and told me it was his greatest wish to see me become a lawyer and then a senator. If I was a good daughter, I would do everything in my power to make his dream a reality. I was completely crushed that day. I still shiver when I recollect it and how stressed and anxious it made me. Everything from then on was about my law degree and my venture into politics. I wasn't even given the time or luxury to decide and develop my own interests. My life was set in stone, and I couldn't change it.

So I worked hard. I worked every single day to make my father's dream come true. I got into a great college on a scholarship after school, and Dad was so proud of me. He couldn't stop showing me off to the world. I was elated that I made him so proud of me. It was my dream come true because it was his dream come true because it was his dream come true. I left for college, and then everything changed. I made friends, I was at ease because I wasn't at home, and that's when I found out that life wasn't about making every single moment about

pleasing your parents and making them proud. There was more to me than my parents. In fact, there was supposed to be more to me than them. And then I went overboard. I stopped studying, I failed papers. It was like I was trying to live for all those 18 years in one go. And, of course, I couldn't keep up with the course. I developed hobbies far removed from law. I got into badminton, and I even started vlogging with a friend. A year into college, COVID hit. For an entire semester, we were locked inside our hostel rooms, and we had no classes

because the online infrastructure wasn't working for everyone. It took time to get into the groove. During this time, my vlogging took off. my friend Kylie, 24F, and I got insanely popular, and our subscribers grew multi-fold on several different platforms. I was disillusioned with my college, with my chosen career, and with my family. Plus, I felt extremely courageous because of all those years of repressed emotions. I focused all my energy on the vlog and TikTok. We even made an Instagram and got popular there, too. I wasn't interested in studying anymore, and I loved what I was.

was doing. I stopped receiving calls from home. I didn't attend any online classes, started performing awfully, and it was a train wreck. But the channel had also started making money. We were doing ads for products and getting small businesses as collaborators, so it was going well for us. I decided to drop out. I knew I would never excel at law, and I didn't have the stamina to push through my entire life for my dad. I also knew that even if I somehow became a lawyer, would hate my job and my life. In all honesty, I didn't give it much thought because I was on a spree of impulse, but I decided to drop out. I didn't even bother informing my parents because by then, I had begun hating them for eating away at my childhood and teenage years.

I just wanted to be free of them and their expectations. The paperwork from the university took some time because of COVID, but I was finally free in a few weeks. Kylie dropped out, too, and we rented a small place and started seriously working on our content. It was only after I dropped out that I informed my family because I didn't want them influencing my decision. It was a dumpster fire the minute I told them. I've never heard my dad yell such profanities, but well, there's a first time for everything, I guess. He first called me every name under the sun, then blamed the last. my mom for producing a kid like me, and then cursed all women. The inner misogynist was back.

Maybe it was never gone. He had just kept it hidden because he wanted a daughter that excelled. He said I would be the biggest failure of the family and that he had no intention of with a useless piece of junk like me and disown me. It was a horrible time for me emotionally, but later I realized it was for the best. I didn't have the energy or strength to cut him off myself, and I know if he hadn't done it, I'd still be stuck in the toxic cycle of living out my life for him. It was tough for us in the beginning, especially because of COVID. However, Kylie and I slowly built up the business and made a good, respectable brand name for ourselves. We're part of the travel side of content creation, and things got much better for us

once COVID restrictions were lifted. We're now extremely successful and make more money than I could have ever imagined. I'm happy with where I am in life. Two years ago, on a trip to South Africa, I met a guy. We hit it off instantly and got involved pretty quickly. We tried a long-distance relationship for a while, and then he came to the U.S. we've been rock-solid since the beginning, and it didn't take long for me to realize he was the one I would marry. He knows everything about my relationship with my parents

and has been such a strong source of support that I've finally come to understand what unconditional love actually feels like. He is also very supportive of my country. career, even though he has a white-collar job in a multinational corporation. However, he is none of the airs my father had and respects my hard work and job. We're about to get married, and I think this news reached my parents, which is why they've been desperate to reconcile for a while. I put up the news of my engagement on social media, and I got a lot of traction on that post. I tagged my fiancé there, and I think that was how my family found out that this is a respectable guy with a respectable

job, and I was doing the one thing a woman ought to do merry well. Suddenly, I was the darling of my snake of a father again. He tried multiple ways to get in touch with me emails, texts, DMs, everything begging for a new beginning, asking me to bury the past and live this new part of life with my entire family. I could see through the bluff immediately, and there were many days I didn't even read, let alone respond. He was desperate to get back in touch and be a part of my life and my fiancés again. I didn't like it at all. I didn't want him near me, but there was this wicked part of me thirsting for revenge and retribution for all those years I missed out on because of him. I spoke to my fiancé, and he said he was okay with whatever I wanted to do.

All that mattered to him was that I shouldn't end up feeling worse about everything. We started our wedding preparations, and I told my parents they were invited. My father was expecting to walk me down the aisle, but I told him he should be thankful he was getting an invitation. in the first place. That shut him up real quick. I had my revenge prepared, and I was going to serve it cold. I didn't want any drama on my wedding day because it was one of the most important days of my life with the one person who taught me what true love was. So the wedding happened without a hitch, and it was beautiful. I got the ceremony I dreamed of. My father tried to act smart during the wedding by getting up in the middle of dinner to make but Kylie made him sit down.

It was embarrassing for him but hilarious for me. My mother took me aside after the ceremony and tried to give me marriage advice, but I told her to piss off because she was never a wife to my dad, she was just a slave. I told her the only reason I invited her was because Dad begged and begged to be part of the wedding, and I wanted to be the bigger person, just like I had all my life. She left with tears in her eyes, but I didn't feel sorry for her at all. I cried such tears throughout my childhood, but she was never there to wipe them away. All she cared about was what Dad wanted, what he did, and how much he provided.

Everything else, she accepted and wanted me to accept as well. Once the ceremony was over, I put my revenge plan into action. The idea was to defame him in public. The only thing he was ever concerned about was his reputation. So that's what I was going to attack and destroy. I would do it with no remorse because he showed no pity to a young girl who cried for days on end, apologizing profusely and begging her dad to talk to her, just because she got to be great on a stupid math test in eighth grade. Once I was back from my honeymoon, I decided to put up my wedding vlog on my channels.

In the months leading up to the wedding, I had shared the entire planning process there, so the wedding video had to go up too. It was here that I played my cards. I started the video by saying this was the best day of my life and that I was so happy to share it with the one person who taught me what love is. With this, I shared my entire life story with my viewers. I talked about the psychological abuse I faced at the hands of my father. I talked about how my mother never uttered a word and just watched me get punished repeatedly. It was a long and heartfelt section of the video, and I cried multiple times while shooting it. I then said this was why the bond one have with my husband is the most beautiful thing in the world to me and that I would never have been able to feel true love and support had it not been for him and Kylie.

I put the video on social media and went to sleep. It turned out to be one of my highest watched videos. The engagement on it was crazy, and everyone was calling out my parents for the shoddy job they'd done in the comments. It was cathartic to read those comments. I felt seen and validated. It was an emotional time for me, and seeing all those people come out to support me, to lighten my burden, and share my story made me feel I wasn't alone. The ramifications for my father were severe.

He saw the video himself and called me, but I didn't answer. Then another call, then a third one. He had gone berserk. He wanted to do damage control as soon as possible, but I wasn't interested. He sent me texts and emails, asking me to call him ASAP, telling me to remove the video, but I didn't. I even made sure to personally send the link to every family member who couldn't attend the wedding, just to let them know what mom and dad had been doing all this time.

The meltdown was crazy. I didn't respond to his emails, but I engaged with my commenters regularly. That's when the real drama started. I guess my father got his friends to comment on my channel and report it. Suddenly, there was a barrage of comments about how children are always ungrateful and parents only want what's best for them. I knew it was my parents doing. The boomer language and tone of the comments were direct giveaways as to who was behind this nonsense. I knew my work was done. I then deleted the video because it had done all the damage it could. I put up a post saying I had

chosen to remove the video because of the negativity it was attracting. The negativity wasn't really affecting me, but I knew it had affected my parents, and that's what I wanted to achieve in the first place. I couldn't let them get away scot-free for what they had done to me. It might seem petty to you. It might have been better if I'd moved on and put everything in the past. What I did might have been unhealthy and toxic in its own way, but it was also deeply cathartic. It made me feel that I finally had a voice and that what I was screaming and yelling all my life wasn't in my head but real and painful. If that makes me a bad person, so be it.

I had the choice between being selfish and being the bigger person. I chose the former, and I am not sorry for it. Update 1. My father tried getting in touch with my husband. Now, the thing about my fiancé is, he's been very supportive of whatever I wanted to do, but he would have preferred it didn't come to that. He said it was absolutely my call as to how I proceeded with exposing my parents, but if you were to make the choice, he wouldn't have done what I did. When my father got in touch with him, he told me immediately.

But when he saw how much that stressed me out, he said he'd deal with dad on his own and that I needn't worry anymore. It turns out my father wanted his help to convince me to do some damage control. The poor man thought my marriage was like his that my husband would command me to do something, and I'd do it because that's just what wives do. Apparently, my video reached a lot of people. While I'd send it to some family members myself, it's a lot of people. somehow reached his workplace, and people started talking about it. Some younger employees began avoiding him, and he's had to do a lot of HR damage control. This has affected his productivity,

mental health, and overall quality of life, and he wants me to intervene and make it right. My husband, Jake, for the purpose of this post because I can't keep writing my husband over and over again asked my dad what he had in mind and what he thought was the best way for me to remedy the situation. Dad said he expected me to release an apology video, saying I'd exaggerated for popularity and that my parents were the most supportive parents I could have hoped for. He essentially wanted me to save his ass and sacrifice my entire career by retracting my statement. Jake said he'd talked to me and let him know, and then he'd blocked Dad's number as soon as the call ended. I'm not sad because I know my father isn't capable of any kind of emotions, but I sure am appalled

at his audacity. I'm obviously not going to do what he asks, and a part of me the petty part wants to make even this request public and make sure he's slandered even more. But I think by doing what I've already done, I've reawakened my past, and I don't want it to keep haunting me. I had a long chat with Jake, and he says it's time for me to let it go not in the sense that I should forgive them, but that I should just stop associating with them like I had been doing for the last five years. He said withouting their treatment of me and their behavior to the public, I'd done what I had to and gotten my revenge. Now it's time to drop it and move forward. I agree with him, and that's what we've decided to do, but I can't shake the nagging feeling that they need to face much more

in order to come even remotely close to the mental trauma they inflicted on me. I went through years of psychological abuse, and it can't be washed away with one video calling them out. Jake insists that allowing more of this to fester will ultimately spill over into our and despite what I claim, I'll continue to be affected. He says I need to let karma take it through, course and not metal. He knows they'll have to face the consequences of what they've done,

whether it be through me or someone else. I want to be the karma that bites them in the ass because I'm the one who had to tolerate it all. Nonetheless, I don't think my father will contact us again. If he tries, he'll soon figure out he's been blocked, and that's an answer that requires no explanation. I'm just glad that the world he commands so much respect and now knows him for what he truly is. Update 2. My mother tried to get in touch with me. I had blocked her too, so she called me from a different number. I answered, and when I realized it was her, I wanted to hang up,

but she begged me to hear her out for five minutes and said she'd never call me again if that's what I wanted. She started off by apologizing for not standing up for me throughout my childhood. She said she was scared of dad and was completely dependent on him financially, which is why she didn't have the courage to stand up for herself or me. She knows she failed as a mother, and that it's too late to ask for forgiveness, but she hopes I'll give her a chance to rectify and build a bond with me. It was a long and emotional call, and we were both crying by the end. Even though she failed me as a mother, as a grown woman, I can understand her predicament. My father was too big of a bully, and it took nerves of steel to stand up to him.

I told her I wasn't ready for a relationship now and that I didn't feel comfortable diving into a mother-daughter relationship with her, but I was with her. willing to give her a chance. I made it abundantly clear that it would take a lot for us to have a cordial relationship because, despite the situation, she was the adult, and it was her job to protect me. I never had that from her, and I'd never felt emotionally or psychologically safe around her, and that's bound to reflect now. She was okay with whatever I wanted and didn't make any demands. We've decided to stay in contact.

I talked to her a little, and I'll take my time to see if I want a deeper relationship with her. I've made it clear that this is between her and me and that I want nothing to do with my father. I'm only willing to give her a chance. I'm not extending this grace to my father, and I don't plan to, ever. I've told her not to tell him we're talking because all he'll do is pressure her into making me set his public image straight, and I'm not interested in that. For now, the secrecy is maintained, and I hope it stays that way. Jake has asked me to be cautious about her because she has a history of being flaky and easily influenced by others. Somehow, this time around, I have a good feeling about her, and I think this might be the start

of a new relationship. I'm not jumping into this equation right away, but I sincerely hope it works out. I'd love it if we could mend things and move forward, at least cordially, because she was as much a victim of the circumstances as I was. Update 3. I should have listened to all the advice on Reddit. I was too optimistic about it all, even though most of you said my mother only came back at my father's behest. You were right, and she has completely betrayed my trust. We were in touch for about a month, which is when I felt comfortable enough to meet her. I decided to meet at a cafe not far

from my place. I told Jake I wanted to do this alone, but I still needed him around in case I wanted to bolt. And that's what happened. She was already there when I arrived, and she was wasn't alone. Dad was with her. Part of me wanted to leave right then, but I decided to talk to them. My father immediately started hounding me, and I felt terribly cornered. My mother, again, didn't say a single word. My father went on and on about how he was a great parent and that I remembered everything incorrectly. Fifteen minutes in, I dropped an SOS to Jake and went home. Needless to say, my mother is blocked again, and no power on earth. will reverse this. She has broken my trust for the umpteenth time, and I am done with both of them.

I cannot take any more of this gaslighting and torture. Eighteen years of it are enough to last me a lifetime. Jake and Kylie have been my support through it all. And I'm glad Kylie and I have another exciting work trip coming up. We're going to cover two Balkan countries, that's all I can share with you, and we're busy preparing for that. It'll be a good change from the mess of the last few months. Now, I know I'll never regret not giving them a chance. My parents have proven, once again, they're not capable of being trusted, and there's no way I'll ever feel safe with them. That chapter of my life is over, and I've decided not to take their toxicity with me into the future. Thanks, Reddit, for all your advice and input. I should have listened, but well, it is what it is.

I hope you enjoy this story. My guardians left me. me at 14 at my grandmother's residence because of my unusual medical conditions. Currently, they are pleading with me for my share of the family fortune to assist my sibling. Out of his mess. So for context, when I was younger, I had been diagnosed with epilepsy pretty young. It was quite unfortunate because my parents were not really well equipped to deal with that sort of thing, emotionally, or mentally, and they started treating me like some sort of disease child whom they could not deal with. I think I must have been around six years old

when I first noticed how differently they treated my brother and me. My brother was three years older than me and my parents treated him far better than they treated me presumably because he was much easier to deal with, as compared to me. And as epilepsy was not enough on its own, the cherry on top was when I was diagnosed with dyslexia and severe ADHD at the age of eight. Needless to say, my parents kind of had their hands full with me. Now it would be one thing if they were nice and kind people who were grateful to have a child and were up for the challenge because I know that it cannot be easy being a parent to a special needs child. But they were the ones who had decided to have a baby, they should have been prepared for what comes with it. I guess they had just assumed that since my brother had turned out perfectly healthy and fine, I would be absolutely healthy as well and did not see this coming.

And now, since I had been born already, they had no choice but to deal with me. They made sure that I felt that way as well like they were tolerating me, and it was not nice. I did not have a very fine and normal childhood like most people, not just because of my illnesses, but also because of my parents. In fact, I would like to say that most of my childhood misery was caused to me by my parents, not my illnesses. That was a very small part of it. But the way they responded to it and treated me, that's what really made me upset.

They always treated me like a problem. and my own family and I never felt included and they made sure to make me feel like an unwanted burden on the family. They would walk on eggshells around me and it was like every time I would walk into a room, they would stop talking instantly, and all their life would be sucked out of that room, just because I had arrived. And this is how they would treat me when I was literally under 10 years of age. So it only got worse with time and my mental health was pretty fragile, I just could not take it. So I started misbehaving in my teenage years. and I guess the adolescent hormones, combined with the misery of growing up in a home where I always

felt like I was not wanted, it just broke my heart, and I started acting out. I stopped putting any effort into studying and started flunking out of all my classes on purpose, just because I was so angry with my parents and how they were treating me. I was defiant, disobedient, and downright rude to everybody that I knew. I was pushing everybody away, even my friends, and I knew that it was not the right thing to do, but I was just so miserable that I did not know how else to get my parents to pay attention to me. Even then, they did not seem to care much. Every time they would be summoned by the school, just because I had broken a rule or misbehaved in some way, they would just sigh in disappointment, but not even bother to reprimand me. It was incredibly frustrating and I hated being with them.

I would even throw temper tantrums in the house and try to get their attention that way, but then, they would just ignore me altogether and talk among themselves, not even bothering to lower their voices so that I wouldn't be able to hear them. They would say things like I was having a fit again and would keep rolling their eyes at me and telling me to be normal. That was the most that I could get out of them and it was just really heartbreaking for me. But then, when I was 14, I broke a major rule in school, and I decided to go crazy and brought a pack of cigarettes to school and started smoking one right in the middle of class. And then, when my teacher demanded that I stop and told me to get out of class, I flipped him off. That was pretty much the last straw for me because I had

already been quite a troublemaker at school before that, but I had always been off the hook because my parents would tell everyone that I was not a normal kid and that I was not exactly right in the head, so they had to excuse my behavior. But after that, there was no going back. I got expelled, and that was the one time that my parents were actually furious with me. They really tore into me that day and said a lot of things that I don't think I will ever be able to forget or forgive. It was not things that I did not know already, but it just hurt to hear them actually say it out loud. They told me that they regretted ever having me and had they known that I would turn out to be such a psychotic little kid, they never would have gone on with the pregnancy and would have terminated it as soon as they found out.

They called me a burden on the family and said that they were better off when they had just one son, so now they were going to make sure that I left the family and never came back again. I was grounded for one week and for that one week, they literally locked me in my room. They did not allow me to come out for anything, apart from bathroom breaks, and even my meals were sent up to me in my room. I was not allowed to go anywhere or speak to anybody and I was absolutely miserable. I kind of felt like a prisoner in solitary confinement. except that this was much worse because it was my own parents that were doing it to me and I don't think I had committed a crime as such.

I had just been acting out and I think that was kind of on them because they had never given the kind of attention that I wanted. Or rather, needed, because I was a child and they should have been good parents to me. They were the ones who screwed up and I am ready to admit that I was not the easiest to deal with, with all my illnesses, but they should have been considered that. They should have thought things through before they decided to have a baby. Anyway, after one week of being treated like that, I finally found out what they had meant when they said that I would never be allowed back into the family again. Out of the blue one day, my parents told me to get into the car with all my stuff. My brother and my mom packed my things for me while I waited in the car and about an hour

later, I was all packed and we were driving. It was a familiar route and in a few minutes, I realized that we were heading to my grandmother's place, my dad's mom. So in my head, I thought that maybe they were going to let me live there for a couple of weeks to get my head on straight. Because I knew that my grandma was a strict disciplinarian, but I also knew that she had a soft spot for me and treated me much better than my parents. I did not think it was going to be a punishment for me as such, but once I got there, I realized that this was not going to be a temporary arrangement. They were, in fact, dumping me at my grandmother's house so that she could raise me. because they were giving up on me and they did not want me around anymore.

That's what they had taken that one week for, to convince my grandmother to raise me. When we reached my grandmother's house, my parents brought out all my things, left them at the door, and told me to carry them all in. They told me that this was going to be my new home now and said that they did not want any contact with me ever again, especially not after what I had done. According to them, I had been trying my best to ruin their reputation but now, I had crossed a line and I could not take it back. While we were at the door, I tried to beg them not to do this because in spite of everything,

I still wanted to have a relationship with my parents. I don't know why, I was 14 and I was desperate to have some sense of belongingness in my family so it was quite difficult for me to leave with the fact that they were dumping me at my grandma's place. I was also slightly concerned about the fact that my grandma probably would not be able to take care of me, which is why it had taken her one week to accept me, since she was getting old. and was already in her 60s. I knew that my grandmother loved me, but I didn't know if she actually wanted to take me in, so I felt like I was just going to go from being a burden to my parents to being a burden to my grandmother. I did not want to disappoint her because even in the past,

whenever I would visit her and she would learn about the things that I had been pulling off at home and at school, she would be quite disappointed, but then she would always encourage me and tell me that she knew I was made of stronger stuff. Tried to convince me that my parents would come around if I behaved better and had faith in me. That was another reason why I did not want to move in with my grandmother because I felt like she would start resenting me as well, just like my parents had, and I could not afford to lose her too. It was kind of complicated.

So I tried to beg them to let me stay with them, but they told me that they had made up their mind. Right in front of me, they told my grandmother that they were done with me and did not even want to hear about me. And then, they said that they did not want to freak like me living with them anymore, and wanted to focus on my very normal brother, which is what really got to me. Because that's the kind of language that bullies at school used for me, to make fun of me, and it really hurt me to hear my parents using the same kind of words for me.

Because it was one thing for the mean kids at school to say it to me, it did not affect me as much because I was used to it. But when I heard my parents call me a freak, I realized that they were the biggest bullies of my life and actually, they were doing me a huge favor by letting me live with my grandma because they never loved me no matter what I did and I bet that even if I had behaved better, they probably wouldn't have cared because to them. My brother was the only child they had. So after that point, I stopped begging and I accepted the fact that I was now going to live

with my grandma, and I decided, in my head, that I was going to be better. Because I deserved better and so did my grandma, and I was not going to throw away my life, just because my parents did not love me. Once my parents had left, my grandmother and I sat down and had a conversation that was much needed. She told me, very transparently, that even though she loved me, she had not exactly been ready to take me in. And she had a number of concerns about me because she had heard about the way that I had been behaving from my father and had said that at her age, it was not going to be possible for her to handle a troubled kid like me. She said that she understood that I needed help, but she was not sure if she would be able to provide the right kind of space. for me to grow up in. And that's why she had been holding out about whether she should take me in or not.

That was why it had taken her one week to come to that decision. But after my father told her that he had grounded me and had just kept me locked in my room for the one week that she had been thinking about what to do, she decided that her son was not the right kind of parent to raise me. And apologized to me for not intervening before, since she also had herself to worry about. She was a widow and did not have much of her own, so she was not sure. if taking me in and adopting me would be the right thing to do. But now that she had learned how badly I was being treated, she could understand why I was acting out the way that I was. And told me that she wanted a fresh start with me, and wanted to do right by me, unlike my parents. She said that I

should look at this as an opportunity, and that's what I did. I apologized to her for everything that I had done in the past, and I told her that I forgive her for not intervening before and not adopting me earlier, in spite of knowing how badly I was being treated by my parents. So we decided to put everything in the past and work together so that I could have a better future. And I always am, always will be, thankful to my grandmother for everything that she has done for me because I truly do not think that I would have become the person that I am today if she had not been a part of my life and had not decided to take me in. I pretty much turned my life around after that day. with the help of my grandmother, and that's why I'm where I am today.

After I moved in with my grandma, I made a conscious effort to be better at everything that I did, and even she tried to do right by me, help me, and provide me with the kind of space that I needed to excel in what I did. She got the right tutors for me to help me with my academics and even enrolled me in private school and made sure that everybody knew that I had needs to be catered to, so they would not treat me like every other student. But unlike my parents, she did not use it as an excuse but used it as a reason to provide me with the help that I obviously needed. And it did help me, which is probably why I was able to graduate with a good score and go to college. Like any other kid, I was able to do everything that I wanted to, and for that,

I only have my grandmother to thank. My parents continued to visit my grandmother occasionally, but they would never see me and I could stay out of their way. Every time that my parents would visit, I would leave the house and only come back after I knew for a fact that they had left. They did not seem to care about this and neither did I that went on for a couple of years. But then, my grandmother had a big fight with them about this and told them that they were horrible parents for not even attempting to talk to me, especially when I was doing better and they had a reason to talk to me and apologize for what they had done. They refused to even acknowledge that they had made a mistake while raising me and pretended like they were perfect parents. I was just a bad

kid. They had called me a rotten apple and a freak, yet again, and my grandma lost it. So she told them never to come back and they stuck to it. They were so egoistic that they just couldn't accept the fact that they were not good parents to me, and that's why I had turned out the way that I did when I was 14, but because of my grandma's guidance, I had improved. And yet, they did not seem to be able to comprehend that. So after that, there was no talking to them anymore. For almost 10 years, my grandma and I did not talk to them and pretended like these people never existed for us. I achieved so much and hit so many milestones, but I never spoke to my parents and neither did they ever reach out to me, even though I had social media and I had never blocked them.

They could have reached out to me, they just chose not to, and only now, have they reached out to me. And that's because my grandma passed away a couple of months ago. It was very upsetting for me since she was the only person that I had who genuinely had my back, no matter what. Even though we had not been living together for the past couple of years, since I moved out for college and then graduated, and got a place of my own. She was still my rock and my support system, so life has been very different without her, and I was still trying to cope with her loss when I heard from my parents. Not even six months have passed since she passed away, but they are already at my door, demanding that I share my inheritance with them because

apparently, my very normal and healthy brother is not doing better than I am, as they had expected. And now, they need my help to clean up the mess that he had made. They visited me a few days ago, and my brother was not with them, which was surprising because before that, every time they would visit, my brother would always come along. I decided to interact with them and talk to them because I had actually thought that they were here to apologize. But after a bit of small talk and condolences, they came straight to the point. They told me that while he was in college, my brother had developed a bit of a drug habit and now, it had started affecting his ability to work. I don't know why they were trying to downplay it because from what I gathered, he was in serious

trouble and needed help. So now, they wanted me to share my inheritance with them, whenever I would come into the money, so they would be able to pay for rehab. I asked them why he could not just attend one of the low-cost programs, which they could afford, and they told me that they had tried, but it was not good enough for him, and he needed a residential program, which apparently cost a lot. Now, I personally don't know anybody who has been to rehab and I don't know how much it costs, and I'm not going to do enough work to actually find out the cost. All I know is that I have my own money now since I have a good job. I'm comfortable and I know that my grandmother was also pretty well off since my grandfather had left her a lot of money and she had invested it pretty carefully,

which is really good for me, but bad for my parents, because in spite of knowing that, they were too proud to keep in touch with her, or even apologized to her towards the very end, knowing that they would probably need the money. Anyway, I did not care about any of that. I just told my parents that I was ready to help them out with whatever amount they needed, but there was just one condition that I had. And that was that they would have to publicly acknowledge everything that they had done in the the terrible way that they had treated me, the things that they had said to me, and also the way that they had treated my grandmother. And then, I wanted them to also acknowledge that now, they needed my help, and why they needed the money from me so that everybody would be able to know what was going on with us. Because for years, we had kept things private, because my grandma did not want any drama.

But now that they had come to me and had the audacity to ask me for help, to share my grandmother's money with them, in spite of the way that they had been treating it. us for the past ten years, I thought that this was necessary. I did not feel bad in the slightest while asking this of them since I wanted them to publicly say everything that they had done wrong. And when I said this to them, their faces literally fell. They tried to negotiate with me and told me that I was being unreasonable and kind of selfish. But I told them that this was my condition, and they could take it or leave it. I had no issues with providing them with the money that they needed, I had nothing against my brother anymore, and neither did they have anything against them. But they definitely would have to acknowledge what they did in order for me to completely move on from what had happened.

Because they had treated me badly, there was no way around it. And they had also not been nice to my grandmother, and this was the money that we were talking about. So if they wanted her money, they had to acknowledge what they had done. It was as simple as that, I don't know why they are being so weird about it. But when I told them this, they started calling me, heartless, emotionless, and said that they had never expected something like this from me. I told them they shouldn't have expected anything from me at all, given the fact that we hadn't even been speaking for the past ten years.

And now, if they wanted my help, they would have to acknowledge and accept their mistakes and apologize for them. That is it, I do not want to hear anything more about it. They left after that, after a lot of crying and accusations, but I did not budge. And now, they are trying to change my mind and telling me that my brother is in a really bad condition and that he needs my help, but I don't understand why they expect me to just do things for them when I never expected them to do anything for me. My grandmother and I only had each other, they never bothered to help us or even check up

on how we were doing. Even when my grandmother passed away, they probably would not have been able to find out unless I hadn't told my relatives, and that's how they even came to know about the funeral and stuff. So why should I help people who have had nothing to do with us for the past 10 years? Even then, I just want to make sure, Ida, for telling my parents that I won't help them financially if they don't accept and acknowledge their mistakes update one. Thank you for all the comments on my original post. I am doing just fine, thank you so much for asking. It has been really difficult for me to deal with the loss of my grandmother, but she was really old and I'm going to.

glad that she's in a better place now. She lived her life to the fullest, and I know that she did not pass away with any regrets. So thank you for the concern and the condolences. Anyway, coming to my parents, are still trying to bother me online, but I have told them that if they don't do as I said, they can give up any hope of inheriting any money. I know that my grandmother left everything to me in her will, and I am sure that my parents know about it as well since the lawyer had sent out an email. And now, all they can do is sit and wall in the retreat. I'm not going to go back on my word.

It has been one week since I last spoke to them, and since none of their police had been working with me, they have resorted to sending me photos of my brother and he looks bad. He is in a pathetic condition and they keep sending me pictures of him, telling me that this is the guy who needs my help, and that I should really step up and do something for him. To that, I only have one thing to say, where were they when I needed that kind of help?

They abandoned me, and I was just lucky that my grandmother had my back, but otherwise, I don't know where I would have ended up. They did not care about me and as much as I feel bad for my brother, I can't help them if they don't apologize for what they did. And it has to be public because I want everyone to know what kind of people they really are. If they can keep their egos aside, just for this one thing, I guess I'll help them out. Because honestly, for me, it's about,

shattering their pride. It was their pride that made them do everything and now, if they really want to help the child that they claim to love, they have to keep it aside. So now I just want to see what comes first for them, my brother or their pride. Update 2. 10 days have passed since I last spoke to my parents, and after a while, I had just stopped responding to their messages. So now, they showed up at my place again. A couple of hours ago, they visited me again, but they This time, they brought my brother along with them, and it was bad. At the door itself, I told them that they could not do this, and if anything, their behavior was only damaging their chances of getting anything out of me.

Because I was not comfortable with them doing this, not even to my brother, since I could only imagine how dehumanizing it was to be used as a puppet. I told them to get out and for a while, they refused to move and told me that if I wanted them to leave, I would have to promise them that I would help them as soon as I could. I told them that I would not be making any promises of the sort and if they tried to mess with me, I would call the police on them, and that would not be too good for them, given the condition of my brother. That scared them, and they left, but my dad told me that both my grandmother and I were the most selfish people on the planet. And that's coming from them, considering how they dumped me on her

doorstep, just because they could not deal with a special needs kid. Actually, they did not want to deal with me, because I was not the perfect little boy that they had expected me to be. If my grandmother and I are selfish, the words that they are have not even been invented yet. Update 3, hi, so I kind of forgot to post here because I got really busy with work. Anyway, almost two months have passed since my last update and a lot of things have changed. For instance, my parents are blocked now and they have no way to contact me anymore because I have moved into a better apartment, in a new neighborhood. So, they don't have the address to that and this time, I have made it known to all my relatives that they are not supposed to give out

my address to anybody, especially my parents. Because the last time, somebody had decided that my parents deserved to know where I lived since their son was suffering and had given them my address. Which is how they had to come to contact me, but this time, I made sure that that was not going to happen. Anyway, after the last time that we spoke when my dad called, me selfish, I decided to block them after that. Because honestly, I did not want this drama anymore. They had shown me that for them, their pride was always going to come first. It came above every single thing in their life, even the son that they claimed to actually love. I can accept that they never loved me and never wanted me because of my dyslexia and ADHD and the plethora of problems

that I had. But my brother was somebody who they had always claimed they loved and was perfect to them, so how they could not make one little sacrifice for him was beyond me. All they had to do was acknowledge that they had made a mistake, it would have been pretty easy to do as well because, even though we had tried our best to keep things private, most of our family was already aware of the bad blood between us. So it was not like they were going to acknowledge something that nobody had known. Even then, they did not want to apologize for the mistakes because in their heads,

they had never done anything wrong and they were perfect. well, they can keep their beliefs to themselves. And I'm going to keep my inheritance for myself, fair enough. I hope you enjoy this story. Spouse left me while I was battling illness. After four years, he sought reconciliation not realizing I had recovered from the illness and was residing with the former partner he had always envied. Five years later.

A go, I got married to my ex-husband Jerry and about a year later, he left me during one of the worst phases of my life. Back then, both of us were 25. We had been dating for about three years after college, and then we got married because it seemed like the most obvious next step since we were both happy with each other. We had been married for about four months, when all of a sudden, I was diagnosed with stage two cervical cancer. There had been signs for a couple of months but we had just chalked it up to general exhaustion and minor illnesses when things started getting worse. We had to take my condition seriously and that's when I was diagnosed. After that, I was in and out of the hospital on a regular basis, and for the first

couple of months, Jerry was extremely helpful. He would take great care of me, he would handle all the medical reports, and keep in touch with the doctors. I felt like I didn't have to worry about anything at all, and even when I started chemotherapy and I started losing my hair, he shaved his head in solidarity with me. In short, he was literally perfect, but then, he started losing faith when I didn't get better after almost six months had passed, and I had undergone several rounds of treatment. I was not showing any sign of progress and slowly, but steadily, I was getting worse. He started distancing himself from me, and even when I would try to get him to talk to me, he would just shut me out. I was already going through a lot, and in behaving like that

with me, I felt like I was being rejected by him and I couldn't take that. So I started picking fights with him, just to get his attention, and that seemed to work for a while, but then, he moved even further away from me emotionally. Finally, about two weeks before our one-year wedding anniversary, I woke up one day to find him gone and all he had left from me was a note on our bedside table, telling me not to go looking for him because he did not want to be found. I thought he was playing a prank on me or something. So I tried to call him. So I tried to call him, and I sent him several messages, but none of them went through. After a couple of minutes, I realized that he had blocked me. Not just my phone number, but he had also blocked me on social

media. So I started panicking and I called my in-laws and they told me that they knew nothing of this and said that they would get back to me as soon as possible, but they never did. I told my parents about it, and they moved in with me so they could take care of me in his absence, which we assumed would be just for a couple of days. Unfortunately, he just never came back, and after he disappeared, I tried my best to look for him, but I was never able to find him again. He was just gone for good and it took me a really long time to recover from that emotionally, and I was incredibly depressed for a long time afterwards. I tried getting in touch with my in-laws several times after his disappearance from my life,

but after that first phone call, they never responded to me until a month later. They visited me but they were acting very cold and weird. and later on, they disclosed that they were only here because they needed to serve me with divorce papers. I was devastated and I realized that they had been in touch with Jerry, but they refused to let on anything else. I was told that he wanted nothing to do with me anymore and that he was really sorry about this, but it had to end this way because he couldn't just waste his life with me anymore. I was really hurt because I could tell that the only reason he left was because I had cancer and he didn't want to take care of me anymore. It's not like I didn't

understand what he was going through, it must have been tough on him, but the least he could have done was have a conversation with me. I think after three years of being together, and one year of marriage, that's the least that we owe each other. One honest and transparent conversation about our feelings, but he didn't think that he owed me even that and that's why he left without a word. It took me a while to come to terms with it emotionally, but after his parents served me with the divorce papers, I signed off on it without any drama. It was already pretty pretty pretty much. It was already pretty obvious to me that there was nothing left to fight for in this relationship anymore, so it was better to just let it go in a dignified way. I obviously did have a lawyer go over everything

with a fine-tooth comb, but in all honesty, his terms were pretty fair. Besides, in one year of marriage, we didn't really have any joint assets and neither of us wanted to drag this thing out, so after getting done with a waiting period, we finalized our divorce without even coming face to face with each other. Everything that I had to communicate with him, my lawyer spoke to his parents and lawyer about it, and that was it. And especially since this was an uncontested divorce, there was no need for us to meet each other either. That was it, after that, I did not hear from my in-laws either and even though I was completely shattered, I knew that I had to keep going somehow. My condition had started worsening because of the heartbreak that I had gone through and even though

my parents were trying to be strong for me, I could tell that it was hard for them to see me like this. For their sake, I knew that I couldn't just give up on my life and go, even though it probably would have been easy for me back then. Anyway, I decided that I was going to fight for my life and I don't know if it was a mental thing or if the treatment started working, but somehow, I managed to make it through. I'm doing fine right now, and for the past three months, I've been cancer-free. It wasn't easy for me at all, and for the past four years. And for the past four years, all I've done is try to be thankful for my life. Part of that gratitude meant that I was ready to give myself a second chance at love. And that's why I agreed to let my ex-boyfriend move in with me

six months ago. Some background information about me and my ex, he and I met in college and dated for two years but parted ways shortly after graduation because we wanted different things from life. My ex, let's call him Andy, and I were part of a larger circle. And that's actually also how I knew Jerry since he was part of the same circle. After we graduated from college, we didn't exactly keep in touch but a couple of months after Andy and I broke up, Jerry reached out to me and we started talking. We became friends, and within a few months, he confessed to me and told me that even when we were in college, he had always had feelings for me, but never acted upon it because I was with Andy. Now that we had broken up, though, he wanted to ask me out, and after a couple of months,

I finally said yes. So that's how we ended up together but even after we got serious about our relationship, Jerry always seemed to be a bit insecure about Andy and so, even though I had been friends with Andy after our breakup. I ended up slowly phasing him out of my life and eventually blocking him altogether because I knew that Jerry didn't feel comfortable with Andy.

Our common friends told me that Andy had been very disappointed that I had ghosted him and blocked him after I got with Jerry, but honestly, there was nothing else that I could do and at the time, Jerry was more important to me than anyone else because I was very serious about him. Eventually, I obviously ended up marrying Jerry and forgot about Andy altogether. But then, we ended up getting divorced, and even though I never posted about it on social media or went public with it, I did tell a few friends of mine and I'm guessing that's how Andy found out about our divorce and my diagnosis. So five months after my divorce was finalized, Andy reached out to me

via email. He told me that he was really sorry about whatever I was going through, both the divorce and the cancer. He also said that he would really like to be friends again, but he would understand if I didn't feel comfortable with it. He was just very sweet in that email and he ended by saying that he wanted me to know that he would always be here for me if I ever wanted somebody to talk to. However, back then, I was still reeling from the shock of Jerry leaving me so I didn't respond to it for 10 months. I did think about that email from time to time, and I even thought about responding, but I couldn't bring myself to actually do it until ten months later when I had finally made my peace with the fact that Jerry had left and he was

not coming back. And I had told a few of my friends about it, and they had insisted that I at least talked to him, in a friendly capacity. So that's exactly what I did and I really didn't have any intention of getting back together with him or whatever. I just wanted to clear the air between the two of us because he was obviously making an effort to do the same. I responded to him in a completely completely platonic capacity and that's how we got to talking eventually. We went back to being really good friends and it was nice to have somebody to talk to on a regular basis, especially since Andy really understands me more than anybody else, to be honest. And I did have my other friends, but with him, I'd always had something special and talking to him made me happy.

My parents also noticed that and encouraged me to keep talking to him, even if we were just friends. For a few months, we would only speak online, and then, he started visiting me at home. Slowly, but surely, we started getting closer again and even though I was not ready to get back with him or anything of the sort, he did not give up on me. Last year, he finally told me that he had never really fallen out of love with me, and getting to know that I had started dating Jerry had been a huge heartbreak for him, but knowing that I was happy was enough for him to stay away from both of us. But now that Jerry was gone and we had become friends again, he felt like he had to tell me the truth, that he loved me and he didn't expect me to get back with him but he just needed to get it off his chest. I appreciated his honesty, but I was very confused because it had been three years since my divorce and I always felt uneasy thinking about Jerry and our past together because we never really got any closure. So I was very conflicted about whether I should try to move on or not, even though I really liked Andy, and honestly, I was pretty sure that I loved him back. now, even more than I had before. My parents and friends talked to me and reminded me that it had

been three whole years since my divorce and if Jerry hadn't come back by now, it meant that he never cared about me and never would. So I needed to give myself a second chance, especially since I was getting better health-wise. Having fought for my life once, I knew that I needed to value whatever I have at the moment because there's no telling what might happen in the future. They convinced me to stop living in the past and give Andy a chance, so a couple of weeks after his confession, I decided to get back with him. And then, after a few months of being back together, he told me that he wanted to be the one to take care of me. He said he wanted to move in with me, and after giving it some thought, my parents, and I decided that since he already spent most of his time with me at my house,

it would be better for him to just move in here. So I agree. I agree. agreed to let him move in since then, we have been staying together. It's been great, I love having him around in a couple of weeks after he moved in. Once he was familiar with my routine, my parents moved out. They still visit me on a regular basis, obviously, but they finally have some time for themselves as well and I guess they really appreciate it. I'm not ready for a second marriage as of now, but Andy and I have discussed the idea and maybe in some time, we will think about getting married. However, for the past couple of months, I've just really been happy that I'm cancer-free and living with Andy, who really loves me and I really love him too. Everything was just perfect until

earlier this week when Jerry reached out to me. He had finally unblocked me everywhere and had sent me a message on Facebook, telling me that he had realized that he had treated me really badly and I didn't deserve that. Of course, it was not in my control that I had been diagnosed with cancer and I was not responding well to the treatment, but he was getting frustrated and did the cowardly thing and decided to just take off without even discussing it with me. He said that he owed me some closure and honestly, more than anything, he wanted to get back together with me because, in the past four years,

all he had done was miss me terribly. He said that he was ready to give our marriage a second chance and if things go back to how they were, even if that meant that he was going to have to take care of me for the rest of his life. He said that he was ready to do it all, and I decided to ask him to visit me, but not for the reasons that he believed. And here is where I might have been in the odd because my intentions were very obvious. I was trying to hurt him.

I hadn't posted about my diagnosis or my recovery anywhere, only my family and close friends knew that I was fine right now. So he had obviously still assumed that I was struggling with cancer, and after taking some time off for four years, he decided to finally come back to me. It was so insulting that he had believed that I was going to be. take him back after how he had treated me and pretended like I wasn't even a part of his life for the past four years. I was furious when I had read that message because it was clear that he actually genuinely believed that I was just going to take him back, no questions asked. He hadn't even

bothered to explain to me what he had been doing for the past four years, that's how confident he seemed. I was very upset about it, so I decided that I was going to teach him a lesson. So I invited him home, just so that I could show him how my new life was. He had no idea that I was staying with Andy because I've never been one to go public with my relationships. I only even posted about Jerry online when I got married. So right now, very few people know about my relationship with Andy and obviously, none of these people have been in touch with Jerry. That's why, a couple of days ago, when Jerry showed up at my house with flowers and chocolates, the first thing that I did after opening the door to him was call Andy to the door and tell Jerry, that while I really appreciated his apology, the flowers and the chocolates, I had moved on with my life, and I did not want him back.

He immediately started losing it because obviously, Andy was the one person he was extremely insecure about, and had always been. He started freaking out at me, telling me that I had betrayed him and stuff, and even accused me of cheating on him. I don't understand how it counts as cheating if I hadn't even been with him at the time that I started dating Andy again, but anyway, I didn't care about his reaction because all I had wanted to do was give him a shot. and I had succeeded in doing that. So while he was having a mental breakdown on my porch, I decided to shut the door in Andy and I went back to watching TV.

For the record, I hadn't told Andy about it, but he didn't really have a problem with what I had done. However, my parents and my friends thought that there was no reason for me to do this. I could have just let it go because this was me just inviting toxicity into my life again. And if I'm being honest, I don't exactly think that they were wrong. because after he left that day, my in-laws haven't stopped trying to contact me because they think that I have been completely heartless. They said that if I had moved on already, then I shouldn't have agreed to invite their son over to my house and give him false hopes because he had actually been feeling sorry about everything that he had done and wanted to fix things with me, which is why he had taken the effort to reach out to me and come to visit me. They are accusing me of trying to ruin his mental health on purpose, and they even have the audacity to suspect me of having had an affair with Andy all.

all along, even though they know for a fact that for the past four years, I had nothing on my mind apart from getting better. And before we got married, I had blocked Andy out of my life altogether just for Jerry. So I don't understand how they have the audacity to accuse me of having had an affair with him. Anyway, they are trying to make me out to be the villain and are acting as if their son was completely innocent in this whole situation. And like I said, my parents and friends are already against this. They have told me that what I did was very unnecessary. They can understand that I felt the need to get back at him but at the end of the day, it doesn't change the fact that it was kind of petty. They're not exactly making a big deal out

of it, but they have spoken their mind and I feel kind of guilty about what I did. I could have avoided all the drama if I had just not responded to him at all and I knew that I had been petty, but now I feel bad. However, I still don't think that I need to apologize to him or whatever because I don't think that it's such a big deal. I definitely do not think that it's as big a deal as his parents are making it out to be, especially considering the fact that he had literally left me while I was fighting for my life and had gone MIA for the next four years, not even showing up for our divorce. His parents also hadn't tried to be apologetic for it, so I don't understand why I'm expected to be forgiving and just let everything go, especially when my in-laws know how their son

had treated me back then. Anyway, Ida for inviting my ex-husband home just so that I can show off my new life? Update 1, hi, so thank you so much for all the comments on my post. It was all really helpful. First things first, I did speak to my parents and my friends about why I did what I did. I don't deny the fact that I was petty and I definitely don't deny the fact that it was completely unnecessary. I could have totally avoided all the drama by just not responding to him, but I felt like I needed to get some closure. I didn't think things through, I made the decision in the heat of the moment, so it was probably not the best way to deal with it,

but I don't have any regrets about it either. They didn't have much to say, we just decided not to talk about it because it really wasn't worth it. And it wasn't exactly as bad as you guys think, I guess I might not have been able to communicate properly in the post or something. But just to be clear, my parents and my friends were not insisting that I apologized to my ex or whatever. They had just told me that they didn't exactly agree with what I had done and they had left it at that.

They hadn't tried to guilt-trip me like my in-laws were doing. And now that we have spoken about it, we have decided that we are just going to agree to disagree. It's really not a big deal for them and nothing in our relationship has changed, so we are fine. The only problem that I'm dealing with right now are my in-laws because they are very upset with what I did. They think that I have emotionally tortured their son by inviting him over and they think that I I owe him a huge apology. I'm not even joking, they have sent me several emails, telling me that I need to apologize to him in person and that I need to clarify that I didn't have anything to do with Andy while we were together because apparently, he is completely broken down. I don't understand

why my in-laws expect so much of me, especially since we haven't had much of a relationship ever since the divorce. They knew that what their son was talking to me was incredibly wrong and yet, they had been on his side and had helped him hide from me during the divorce. I'm not completely blaming them, but they were a huge part of the reason why I was never able to get any sort of emotional closure from Jerry while we were separating. So how come it was back then but now, since it's Jerry's mental health at risk, all of a sudden, I need to talk to him and give him an explanation for everything. He didn't think that he owed it to me back then neither did his parents, so I'm just playing by the same rulebook now. Update 2. So it's been three days since my last update and I have been having no problems, but of course,

that probably did not sit well with Jerry and his parents. Andy and I work from home, but I guess they didn't know that. They probably assumed that Andy wouldn't be at home if they showed up in the morning. Jerry and his parents visited me in the morning today and when I opened the door. They started demanding that I speak to Jerry and give him an explanation for everything that is going on because he's been very confused and they can't allow their son to go through this. I literally just wrote my eyes at them and I told them that I was not entertaining any of this BS. I did not owe them anything because Jerry didn't bother to give me an explanation when he left.

And now, he could think whatever he wanted. I was not going to give him the satisfaction of getting an explanation or a reaction out of me. The only reason I had even opened the door was so that I could say this to their faces and then I told them that if they did not clear out, I would call the cops. Then, Jerry started screaming at me, telling me that I was a horrible human being for what I had done. He called me petty and selfish, and then, he started cursing at me. When he started screaming, Andy had heard that, and he came to my side. He looked furious and I could tell that it was taking him all he had to keep himself from having a go at Jerry, and I really didn't want to do that, so I took my phone out, and I told Jerry and his parents that they had to leave

where I really would call the cops. After bickering with me for a couple of seconds, they finally left because I had started dialing, even though they did not let go of the opportunity to curse at me some more. That did not affect me, though, even though it really made Andy mad and he cursed right back at them. But finally, they left and luckily, Andy told me that he had started recording everything on his phone so even though there is hardly any video of any of this happening, He has a full audio recording of Jerry yelling at me and he didn't stop recording until they had left. Now that we have this, we know for a fact that the next time they show up, we will not only be pressing charges against them, but we will also be contacting our lawyers to file a restraining order against Jerry and his family. But I really hope that we don't have to go through all of that and that they leave me alone after this because I think I've said whatever I had to.

Update 3, hey, so it's been a couple of days since Jerry and his parents showed up at my house. After that, they did not try to contact me anymore, and I was really relieved. I did speak to a couple of my friends about what had happened and they told me that what I had done was kind of petty and unnecessary. The way they were reacting right now was unhinged and they thought it would be wise for me to speak to a lawyer just in case. But I don't think I'm going to need to do that because I received an email from Jerry and he told me that he's moving to Europe with his parents and he's never going to bother me again. Apparently, after he left me, he moved to California for his new job. He had applied to it while he was still with me, but he couldn't bring himself to talk to me

about it because he knew that it was impossible for me to relocate at a time like that. And neither did he want me to even consider it, but he would feel like a horrible human being for leaving me while I was struggling to live. So he admitted to being a coward and said that he left so that he could avoid any sort of confrontation. And even though he had had a couple of flings in the past four years, he could never get serious with anybody because he always regretted whatever had gone wrong with me. Recently, he had applied for a position in Europe and he had been back here for a couple of months so he could convince his parents to move with him and have a fresh start. That's why he had reached out to me as well because now that he was back in town, he had at least wanted to apologize to me and give our relationship another shot. But after seeing me with Andy the other day, he realized that he had no.

right to intrude in our lives. Especially not after everything that he had put me through and he definitely did not have the right to question me either, nor his parents. So now, he was doing the decent thing and leaving me alone. He said that he did not expect to be forgiven because all of this was coming too late and it was just too little. But he wanted to apologize for everything that he had done because he had been a coward and even, he had no right to be throwing tantrums and sending his parents after me the way he did. He knew that Andy, loved me, and I was happy with him, so he's going to stay away from me now and I have to say, I'm really glad that he came to this conclusion. I did not reply to that email, but I did make

Andy read it and my friends and parents read it as well. They think that this is good enough to put an end to whatever had been going on and I agree. So now we can all finally collectively move on from this. This is good because, in a couple of months, I think I would like to get married to Andy and start a new chapter of my life with him. I guess I finally got the closure that I needed and I'm finally ready to get married again, to start a family, and just live my life to the fullest once more. I hope you enjoy this story. Closed Buddy asked me to watch over her child's marriage celebration since my wheelchair and oxygen tank might disrupt pictures. Consequently, 80 attendees enjoyed a gathering in their absence and are pointing fingers at me. I was so happy to see a wedding

invitation in my mailbox. I pulled it out and a little note fell out on an index card but I looked at the invitation first. It was truly beautiful and I immediately stuck it to my fridge like the work of art it was. It was addressed to my husband and me and I was beyond stoked. I love weddings. I tend to get teary-eyed and smile until my face hurts at the joy of new beginnings and all the love. I was even a wedding singer, that's how much I love them. I picked up the number. I picked up the note card and read that and while my husband was invited, I'd be in another room helping to babysit all the children there with several other female invitees. There's a special room for children at the church and that's where I'd be.

For everything. I'd still need to dress for a wedding in case I wind up in any photos, but I'd be taking my reception meal with the children and I'd be with all the kids for the ceremony. Then there was a link for their gift registry. Oh, and the meals for my husband and myself would be $100 each and we have a link to pay it when we digitally are SVP. The first problem here is that I am disabled at 50 years old. Legally. I use oxygen. I use a walker when I need to walk long distances. I sometimes have to give up the walker entirely and use a wheelchair.

I'm not proud of it, but there it is. I could happily sit in a room and look at kids, but I'd be pretty useless to prevent fall or stop a child from choking or anything else that would require me to move quickly. Second, my husband isn't the one who has been friends with these people since childhood. I am. Why would he be invited to watch the ceremony and be part of the reception, but not me? My husband said he'd happily watch the kids and let me attend the wedding and reception, but the invitation specified that only other female invitees would be watching the kids so I doubt they'd let him. Is this a normal thing at weddings now? Do you pick guests to babysit other guests' children?

Should I call them up and explain my health situation even though they already know it and visit me during my multiple hospitalizations a year? I hate having to pull the health card but honestly, what were they thinking? I confess that I feel offended and hurt that I'm nothing more than a babysitter to them who is expected to pay for my supper and babysit for free. Would I be wrong to simply tell them we won't be able to attend and to find another sitter? And if we don't go, do we still send a gift? Updating to address some questions. I know these folks because my mom, R.I.P. Mom, and the bride's grandma were besties. So, I grew up with the bride's mom as an almost sister to me. We went to school together,

graduated together, worked at the same place twice, and have been super close since. The bride is like a goddaughter. At least I thought she was. I'm gobsmacked here. The church where they are getting married is a Southern Baptist church. They aren't members. None of us are overly religious. They just like the venue and booked it. I've never been inside, but it's lovely on the outside and apparently, it has a child care room that is big enough for a bunch of women and kids to hole up comfortably for a wedding and reception.

We're all American. The groom's family is related to my family via marriage and the bride and groom met at my house at a cookout a few years ago. I've always been way closer to the bride's family, though. I knew that there had been a proposal. I got face-timed about ten minutes after it happened and my husband and I cried and laughed and wished them well and oohed and awed over their story in the ring. I was expecting an invitation, sure. But not like this.

The last time I had lunch with the bride's mom, she told me they're inviting around 200 people so it'll be a large wedding with, I'm assuming, a ton of children. No, I don't hate kids. I love kids. I would have loved to have kids of my own but my body just would have. It took two miscarriages and a stillbirth to finally make me accept that it wouldn't happen for us. We are in the process of adult adopting two young adults that we brought into our home when we found out they were kicked out and homeless at 18. They've lived with us for years and we're making it legal. They call us mom and pop and we're a family.

I'm still considering my options. I've started and deleted multiple emails to the bride's mom. I'm a raw nerve right now and my tone isn't the kindest. I want to keep it all in writing so there can be no he said slash she said. I plan to ask if they incorrectly sent me the note about babysitting since they know I physically cannot do that. But every inception of the email led with oof, Donna? So, I need to think about it some more. Smile, thanks for all the comments.

I'm reading them all. Comment where op has replied, K-colon, K-colon, I'm not proud of it, but there it is. Sorry to not reply to your initial question, but this comment caught my attention. I just wanted to let you know that you should actually be very proud of yourself and your body, for pushing through and using the equipment that is needed to support your body well. Oop, thank you. So much. I never expected this to be my reality at 50 years old. Never. I went from being so healthy and doing all kinds of sports. I rocked roller derby, and could swim like a fish.

And love to play tennis, to this. And sometimes I feel like it's not even my own body I'm living in anymore. It's just not okay. Therapy is helping me accept it, but it's an uphill battle that I feel like I can't win. So, thank you. From the bottom of my heart. Thank you. Update 1, I spoke to my friend, the mother of the bride, and I'm pretty upset. I've been bawling for most of the day.

She called and said that they were getting a lot of backlash from the wedding guests. No one wants to pay $100 for dinner and only three of the women asked were okay with babysitting. I told her I understood that the guests were upset because it's just tacky to one, be asked to pay and two, be told you are invited but only to babysit. I told her I would not be a babysitter at all. No. Just no. She got mad and brought up how we were lifelong friends.

She said I'd be helping them more by babysitting than I'd be helping by simply sitting in a pew watching. I reminded her that I couldn't physically help at all due to, you know, being legally disabled. She said they completely understood that and expected me to simply supervise the other sitters since they trusted me most. Again, I told her that I felt it was insulting to be vol untold. Thanks, Reddit, for that word, that I'd be big. babysitting and that I had no desire to do that, especially not dressed in formal wear. Then we got to the truth. She said that she didn't know if I'd be in a wheelchair that day or

require a walker. That's fair. I don't always know which one I'll need. She said that they wanted everyone in pews for the wedding video and me sitting in a wheelchair would make me stick out and ruin video slash photos. I said, if I need a wheelchair that day then I can move to a pew and my husband can put the wheelchair in another room or back in our car. I may not even need it that day. Then she says, well, space is limited in the pews. You would take up the space of two people with your purse and oxygen tank, I said, no, I would not. I wouldn't bring a purse in and the oxygen tank either sits on my lap or between my feet. It's like a little backpack. Then she said, well, having you in oxygen in the photos would be distracting from the other people.

And there you have it. Words were exchanged and she hung up on me. I haven't been removed from any social media yet, but I fully expect to be. I already feel awful for being this way at only 50 years old. I didn't choose this. I didn't want this. If she thinks it's awful to having it photographed, just imagine living with it. Which is what I told her before she hung up on me.

I'm devastated. Just devastated. Update 2, I'm not in the greatest headspace. I don't think I've ever been less okay, honestly. I did not register to RSVP or communicate with them further. Until, another invitee got in touch with me and said that the mother of the bride, a person I thought of as basically my sister, was bad-mouthing me into the ground. I explained my side and our mutual friend was livid. They told the mother of the bride and the bride that they were wrong to want to exclude me because I might or might not need a wheelchair and would have oxygen on my face. I could remove the oxygen for photos, they told her. So, the mother of the bride sent me a message saying, and I quote, well, if you're going to be but heard about the aesthetic we want to

achieve and try to turn other guests against us then you can fucking come and sit in a pew. But not in photos. And we'll try to get the videographer to do edit. to the wedding vid, too. But I won't forget how you made this difficult for us. I replied, how did I make it difficult other than existing? She replied, you clearly told about what I told you regarding your wheelchair and oxygen. And she's telling everyone else. We're getting a ton of hate, I said. She asked me if I was attending and I told her no and explained why. I didn't lie to her. I told her exactly what you said. You didn't tell me. tell me not to tell anyone your reasons. If there are valid reasons to you, then you shouldn't care

who knows. So, I'm now blocked by the bride, the mom, the dad, and the groom. A friendship I've had my entire life is over. A goddaughter that I helped nurture and care for is just gone now. We paid for the bride's car insurance, gas, and cell phone all through high school and college because we wanted her focused on just her studies and not a part-time job. Her parents got her a car but insisted she worked but her grades fell when she did and we helped her. And this is how they thank us. This is how they repay our kindness. I guess I'm a great friend when I'm giving money, but I'm not good enough to be seen. I've felt like a burden my whole life and this has set me back so far. I'm just not okay. Update three, apparently, my post went sort of viral because it was on

Fox News and a site called Board Panda. A few mutual friends reached out and asked if it was me and I admitted that it was. They were told something completely different about the situation. The bride's mother told them that I refused to come because of my health difficulties and that I was afraid I would ruin the wedding and decline the RSVP. She even claimed that she had been begging me to attend ever since the engagement happened, which was a bold-faced lie. I am the one who organized and paid for the after-engagement party so they could announce the happy news to everyone and I was clear to everyone that I couldn't wait to attend the wedding. So, I sent screenshots, photos of the invitation, and the note card telling me I'd be babysitting, and then the showdown

where I was told I could sit in the pew and just be edited out of the video and would not be in any photos. I also posted it on Facebook and shared receipts there, too. Well, World War III has officially commenced. Granted, I'm getting this all third and fourth hand, but here's the latest. Word has spread fast. Links to the news article have made it all over the place and I've been told that the few ladies who had agreed to babysit have backed out and asked if there was something wrong with them that would make them not fit to sit in the pews or be in. Photos. And I think that's probably the case since two of them have unnatural hair coloring and the other has facial piercings. The church that was booked as the venue has been notified and I'm hearing it's probably not going to happen there because the pastor's daughter is wheelchair bound after a car accident.

He was going to officiate but now he says he's conflicted about it and the message it would send. My ex-friend and the bride have blown up my husband's phone because I blocked them after this went public. They blocked me first on all of the social media spots and he let it go on for a few days to see what they had to say. He has blocked them but the bulk of it is that I'm jealous that. that I was never blessed with any children of my own, so that's why I'm ruining this for them. I'm hateful and vile and vindictive because I hate them for their clear health. I mentioned that the groom is related to me by marriage, right? That whole branch of the family tree has now divided itself with some on my side and some on the bride's side.

The groom hasn't contacted us at all, but his mother did and told me that I was wrong for sharing personal business and that I need to let the bride of her wedding how she wants it. I don't agree that I did anything wrong here. I can't help that I'm sick. They've made me feel like utter trash that should just be tossed into the landfill. I hurt. I literally ache because of this. So, hi Donna, my ex-best friend and practical sister.

If you're reading this, you devastated me. I'm not okay. I don't know that I'll ever be okay again. I invested time and money into both you and your daughter. daughter. I gave you both a home when your marriage was messed up and never charged you rent or asked for help with groceries or utilities. For over a year, you lived in our home and we paid your way so you are wrong to treat me this way. My oxygen mask and possible need for a wheelchair should be the last thing on either of your minds, because what matters most is that I, feeling as

bad as I normally do, was still going to put on my best dress, make myself look presentable, plant a smile on my face through my pain, and show up for you like I always. always have. But I never, ever will again. If people notice me in your photos at all, it would have been because I had the biggest and most proud of anyone there and they'd see the love I had for you radiating off the image. You will regret this one day when I'm gone and you realize that there are more important things in life than a perfect photo. Update for the wedding was today, November 16, 2024. Friends rented a big cabin venue about 20 minutes from the wedding venue and everyone who was offended over being asked to pay at the reception and babysit or serve the food.

Yes, several people got invitations telling them they were invited, but would be serving food at the reception they paid to eat at. Got together at the cabin. Me included. I was on the fence about going because I really didn't want to sit there and talk about everything and rehash it, but that wasn't my experience at all. I had a truly lovely time. My husband and I even danced to our wedding song. And I had mixed drinks. Quite a few so forgive me if this is typos. L.O. Two of the bridesmaids opted out of the wedding over mistreatment and, without anyone knowing, they sent letters to all the guests who had been invited to tell them what went down with me and others being asked to babysit slash be servers. Those guests were given the address of the cabin.

They were the two bridesmaids who addressed all the envelopes and still had the guest list from what they told me. Anyway, we had a great time. There were about 80 of us before all was said and done, though I didn't take a head count. It was packed. Several people went to the wedding but didn't attend the reception. They refused to pay for their meal and came to our get-together instead, including the two bridesmaids who told me all about what I was being called and the story of how I was trying to ruin their wedding because I was jealous of their good health. The bridesmaids who backed out of the wedding due to Bridezilla behavior were posting a ton of picks of all of us dancing and eating. We all chipped in dollar weeks ago for catering and booze, and was seen by my ex-bestie

because she unblocked me. I unblocked her weeks ago in the hope that she'd come around, much as I'm loath to admit it, and called me to tell me off again. I told her I didn't plan the alternate reception but I was invited and came because they didn't care about my health or me ruining any photos, just me having a good time. Apparently, the wedding was really. The wedding was ruined because of me. They had invited hundreds of people and the church wasn't even halfway full. And the reception had less than 30 people, so that's $3,000 the guests paid. When the food and liquor cost around $15,000 and it's my fault they're eating that cost now. They likened me to the Antichrist and the devil and claimed I had to be possessed to do this to a young girl and the

groom when he's a member of my family. I said, I didn't do anything. I told the truth and if the truth hurts you then maybe you were wrong to do it. Did you consider that? She hung up on me and started calling others and demanding the address so they could come to the actual reception. No one gave it to her. I just got home at 11 p.m. It was a great day. I laughed. I even felt up to dancing a little. I had good news. I don't need my oxygen all the time now and just at night via seepap or after exercise and I have been going to the pool and doing senior aquatics as much as I can, and it's helped so much with my breathing and my mobility. I can walk around the whole grocery store now without needing to sit down on my walker. I still use the walker for long periods due to

dizziness from Meniere's disease, but I think I'm doing better. At least, I'm trying. I feel very proud of myself, friends, anyway, the wedding still happened but they didn't have the numbers they expected and I've heard that someone suggested they donate the excess food instead of throwing it away but they didn't. Which sucks because I just know that firemen or police or the hospital or the homeless shelter would have been so happy to get it. I think I'm doing better mentally after today because everyone who talked to me told me it was wrong to exclude me because of my wheelchair or oxygen. I did have my walker with me today but not my wheelchair or an oxygen tube. I had it in my car just in case I needed it and there were a couple of times I could have used it, but I was determined

not to be in any picks with it out of pure spite. I also wore the pretty dress I bought for the wedding and had many compliments. I'm still hurt and angry and miss having that closeness with their family, but I'm going to be okay. And that's a wrap. Next story, husband cheated with my cousin when I was postpartum. So I spent six years secretly planning my exit. Made him pay for my education, house, car, and surgery before leaving him. This has been my plan for six years. This is by far the craziest thing I've done and I can't believe I suffered all these years staying with this man just so I can survive financially. The start of our marriage was wonderful. We had two babies. After the second pregnancy, he cheated on me with a very close family member. He gave me a lazy apology and on top of that he complained about my

body. He also told me I was built like a refrigerator, mind you, I was four months postpartum at the time. I secretly saw a family lawyer. To sum it up for you, I would be screwed leaving him. We only had $25,000 and that being split up is basically nothing for me. No martial properties. No car. I didn't have a job. Literally nothing. I was a psalm. I applied for hundreds of jobs during the time and couldn't find employment anywhere so leaving was a bad decision for me financially speaking especially with two small babies. Also, alimony and child support wasn't going to be enough for me to live off of or survive with two babies with. So I let him believe that I forgave him and I continued being his wife. The very first time he cheated on me it was with my cousin.

Then he cheated again, he had a one-night stand with a random girl he met on a night out. I got so mad, I cheated back on him out of anger. OFC, he never found out I cheated. At least I'm smart about it unlike him. During the time in our marriage, I worked on getting my independence back. My husband paid for my trade school. It was a very expensive program but he paid for everything. We moved and we bought a house with his income. He grew his money too during all this time. So he made far more money now than he did when I originally wanted to leave him. I started recently. I have a career now. I'm so happy about that. I haven't filed for divorce yet. He has no idea of my plans. I'm excited. I finally get to leave him after six almost seven years.

Now I can walk away with at least $200,000 and we have martial assets now like the house and the car he also paid off for me. Now I have my education and my own career. I've been working on my weight loss. I lost 66 pounds he paid for my tires epautee. I had a breast reduction and a breast lift. I look amazing, I don't doubt I'll probably get remarried eventually. Everything in my life is finally set and going the right way. Update, November 3rd, 2024. A lot of people here wanted an update the last time I posted.

I wanted to update you guys and tell you that I did serve you know what's the funny part. He was honestly shocked that this happened as if he didn't do anything wrong. He told his parents on me because I'm really close with his parents and he thought they could persuade me to change my mind. His parents are sweet, however, they turned on me quickly and told me off for leaving their son. They let me know what he did was unacceptable, but what I'm doing is even worse by leaving him and a family behind.

My husband cursed me off after the divorce news. He also called me a gold digger and went on a rant about how women only want money and blah, blah, blah. He also called me a slut because I went out with my girls and boys who are my close friends and we went to the bar and celebrated my divorce. Before I told my husband about this, anyways, we are in the middle of a divorce now. It's a process. We both still live in the marital home until further noticed as noticed by the attorney. We will both have the 50 to 50 custody, most likely a rotating schedule. One of my kids is taking the divorce really hard even though he knows what happened and he's begging us to stay together and how he

doesn't want us to get a divorce. Honestly, I did feel pretty bad after my son begged me not to divide up our family and to stay with their dad. But I know at the end of the day I need to be selfish and put my needs above everyone else's for once in my life. My son does hate me though, he won't talk to me and spends most of his time with daddy. My other child is younger and doesn't fully understand what's going on and is just kind of brushing it off. My son just keeps saying he doesn't want divorced parents and he wants us to stay together and he doesn't want step parents. My son is really taking it hard. He is also saying that he wants to spend most of his time with his father if I go through with the divorce and I just told him that's not how it's going to work and we will both spend time with him and he keeps saying it's not fair and he doesn't want to stay with me.

I hope you enjoy this story. My sibling mentioned that my spouse was not a genuine gentleman during our gathering, so I discontinued the 8,000. $100 monthly contributions we had been providing her, and she faced eviction after several months. Later she showed up drunk and got arrested at my house. My husband Matthew runs a successful YouTube channel about retro gaming and tech reviews that brings in around $180,000 a year, and we just got back from an amazing two-week trip to Japan that he completely paid for including first-class flights, fancy hotels in Tokyo and Kyoto. And all the experiences we want to like private tours and expensive restaurants.

We were so excited to share our photos and stories with my family during our usual Sunday dinner at my parents' house, and Matthew was showing everyone the video he made about Japanese arcade culture that already had over 150K views in just three days. My sister Alice, who's 28 and a single mom to her six-year-old son, Jeremy, seemed really interested in our stories and kept asking questions about the places we visited, the food we tried, and how much everything cost. Matthew was being his usual generous self and started talking about how we were thinking of planning another trip next year, maybe to Europe this time, and mentioned that we'd love to bring some family members along if they were interested because traveling with people you care about makes everything more special. Alice's eyes lit up when she heard this and she immediately started talking about how Jeremy had never been on a plane before and how educational it would be for him to see different cultures, while my parents started getting excited about the possibility of seeing places they'd only dreamed of visiting. Matthew was explaining how his channel had been doing really well lately and that he'd been saving up specifically for experiences like this because he believed memories were more valuable than material things, and he mentioned that his latest sponsorship deals had been particularly lucrative. That's when Alice's whole demeanor changed and she got this weird look on her face, and she started asking Matthew really pointed questions about his work schedule and whether he ever felt embarrassed telling people what he did for a living. Matthew answered honestly that he usually worked about six to eight hours a day creating content, editing videos, managing his social media, responding to sponsors, and handling the business side of things, but that he had the flexibility to work from home and set his own hours.

Alice then asked if he ever missed having a real job and working with other people, and Matthew just laughed and said he loved what he did because it combined his passion for gaming with his technical skills and allowed him to connect with people all over the world who shared his interests. He mentioned that he had actually turned down several traditional tech jobs over the years because his YouTube income was substantially higher than what any of those positions offered, and that he enjoyed the creative freedom and entrepreneurial aspects of running his own business. My parents were clearly impressed and kept asking Matthew questions about how he built his audience and managed to turn his hobby into such a successful career, and my dad even said he wished he'd had opportunities like that when he was younger. But Alice kept getting more and more sour looking as the conversation went on, and I could see her jaw clenching every time Matthew mentioned money or success. Then Matthew started talking about the technical aspects of his setup and how he'd invested in professional great equipment for filming and editing. And he mentioned that he was actually thinking of hiring an editor soon because his workload had increased so much that he was having trouble keeping up with demand from both his audience and potential sponsors. He said the plan was to use the extra time to focus on developing new content formats and maybe even launching a second channel focused on tech tutorials. That's when Alice completely lost it and said, so basically you sit at home all day playing video games while my sister works a real job to support you.

And now you want to throw money around taking vacations and acting like some kind of big shot when you're really just a glorified housewife who got lucky with some internet fame that could disappear tomorrow. The entire table went silent and Matthew's face went completely red, but before he could say anything Alice continued with, real men go to offices and work with other people and contribute to society instead of making stupid videos about old Nintendo games that only basement dwellers watch. And it's honestly embarrassing that you're trying to act like you're successful when you're basically just playing around on the computer all day while other people do actual work. I immediately stood up and told Alice that she was being completely disrespectful

and that Matthew worked harder than most people I knew, and that his business was legitimate and successful and she had no right to diminish his accomplishments just because she didn't understand what he did. I pointed out that Matthew had just offered to pay for a family vacation that would cost thousands of dollars, and instead of being grateful or even polite about it, she was attacking him personally for no reason.

Alice shot back that she was just being honest about the situation and that someone needed to point out that Matthew wasn't living in the real world, and she said it was pathetic that I was defending something. someone who plays video games for a living when there were people out there doing actually important jobs like teaching and nursing work. She said Matthew was setting a bad example for Jeremy and my kid by showing them that you could make money without having a real career and that the whole YouTube thing was just a phase that would end badly. My parents immediately jumped in and told Alice that she was being completely inappropriate and that Matthew had always been respectful

and kind to our family. And my mom said she was ashamed of how Alice was acting towards someone who had just offered to take our entire family on an expensive vacation. My dad said that Matthew's success was something to be celebrated, not attacked, and that Alice owed both Matthew and me a serious apology. But Alice wasn't done and she kept going, saying that Matthew was soft and not a real man because real men didn't need to hide behind computer screens to make money, and that I deserved someone who could provide for me through traditional work instead of what she called internet begging.

She said the whole YouTube career was unstable and irresponsible. and that Matthew should get a real job before thinking about expensive vacations and acting like he was financially secure. Matthew finally spoke up and said very quietly that he was sorry Alice felt that way about his work, but that he was proud of what he'd built and that he'd never asked anyone in the family for money or support, only offered to share his success with people he cared about. He said he understood that not everyone understood his business model, but that didn't give anyone the right to insult him in front of his family, and he excused himself from the table and went outside to get some air. I was absolutely furious at this point and told Alice that her behavior was disgusting and completely unacceptable,

and that she had just insulted and humiliated my husband in front of our entire family for no reason other than her own jealousy and bitterness. I reminded her that Matthew and I had been giving her $800 every month for the past two years to help with her rent and Jeremy's expenses, and that we'd also paid for Jeremy's school supplies, clothes, and several emergency expenses including her car repairs and medical bills. I told Alice that since she clearly had such strong opinions about how Matthew made his money and whether it was real enough for her standards, she obviously wouldn't want to accept any more financial help from us and that our monthly payments to her would stop immediately.

I said that if Matthew's money wasn't good enough for her respect, then it wasn't good enough for her bills either, and that she could figure out how to pay her own expenses from now on. Alice immediately started backtracking and saying that she didn't mean it like that and that she was just frustrated about her own situation. But I told her that she had made her feelings about Matthew perfectly clear and that there was no taking back the thing she'd said. I said that we'd been helping her out of love and family loyalty, but that she'd shown she didn't value or respect us. So there was no point in continuing the arrangement. My parents backed me up completely and told Alice that she had crossed a major line and that they agreed. with my decision to stop the financial support, and my mom said that Alice needed to think seriously

about how she treated people who had been nothing but generous to her. My dad said that Matthew had never been anything but kind and respectful to our family, and that Alice's attack on him was uncalled for and showed poor character on her part. Alice started crying and saying that she was sorry and that she didn't really mean what she said, but I told her that the damage was done and that sorry wasn't enough after the way she'd spoken to and about my husband. I said that Matthew deserved better treatment for my family and that until she could genuinely understand why her behavior was wrong and make a real apology, I didn't want to hear from her. Matthew and I left shortly after that, and my parents called later that night to apologize

for Alice's behavior and to tell us that they'd had a long talk with her about respect and gratitude. They said they fully supported my decision to cut off the financial help and that Alice needed to learn there were consequences for treating people badly, especially people who had been generous to her and her son. Now it's been two days and Alice has been texting me nonstop saying that she's sorry and that she was just having a bad day, but she still hasn't apologized to Matthew directly. She keeps saying that she needs the money and that Jeremy will suffer if we don't help, but I feel like she should have thought about that before she decided to attack my husband's character and career in front of our entire family. Matthew says he's not angry anymore

and that he understands Alice is probably struggling, but I can tell he was really hurt by what she and I don't think I can just let this go and pretend it didn't happen. The $800 a month we were giving Alice was money we could have been saving or using for our own goals, and if she doesn't appreciate it or respect where it comes from, then I don't see why we should continue. So Ida? Edit, a lot of people are asking for his YouTube channel and the DMs and comments. I have asked him about it and he said that he doesn't want his personal life to be exposed online. Some details were already changed to be anonymous and I guess.

That's it. Update 1, two days later, I've been reading through all the comments and I want to address some of the criticism I'm getting about not defending Matthew enough during the dinner. Some people are saying I should have shut Alice down immediately and that I let her go on too long before I said anything, but I want to be clear about what actually happened because I think some people are misunderstanding something. When Alice first started asking Matthew pointed questions about his work schedule and whether he missed having a real job, it honestly didn't seem that aggressive at first, and Matthew was answering her questions calmly and seemed happy to explain what he did. I thought she was just curious about his work since he doesn't talk about the business side of his channel very much during family dinners, and her initial questions seemed like normal conversation. It was only when she started getting that sour look on her face and her tone changed that I realized she was building up to some. something mean, but even then I thought maybe she was just having a bad day and would back off. It wasn't until she called Matthew a glorified housewife that I realized she was actually attacking him, and I stood up and started defending him immediately after that comment. I didn't let her go on

for minutes while Matthew sat there getting insulted. The whole exchange from her first nasty comment to me telling her off probably lasted less than two minutes total, and I was pushing back on her the entire time. When she said Matthew wasn't a real man, I am. immediately told her she was being disrespectful and that Matthew worked harder than most people, and I kept defending him throughout the rest of her rant. Some people are also saying I'm making excuses for Alice or that I should have cut contact completely instead of just stopping the money, but I'm not making excuses for her at all. What she said was completely wrong and I've been very clear about that in my texts to her

and in conversations with my parents. I cut off the financial support because that felt like the most direct consequence for her actions, and it addresses the specific irony of her complaining about Matthew's money while taking it every month. As for cutting contact completely, I'm not ready to do that yet because Jeremy is involved and he's innocent in all of this. Alice is his only parents since his father isn't in the picture, and while I'm furious with her, I don't want to punish Jeremy by completely cutting off his only connection to our family. But that doesn't mean I'm going soft on Alice or that I'm going to let this slide. I've told Alice through texts that she needs to apologize directly to Matthew,

not just to me, and that it needs to be a real apology where she acknowledges that what she said was wrong and hurtful, not just sorry you were offended or sorry I had a bad day. I've been very clear that until she does that, we're not going to have any kind of normal relationship, and the money situation isn't even up for discussion. Matthew has been really understanding about the whole thing and he's not pushing me to handle it any particular way, but I can tell he was more hurt by Alice's comments than he's letting on. He's been working extra hard on his videos this week and he's been quieter than usual during dinner, and I think Alice's comments about his work not being real really got to him even though he knows she's wrong.

My parents have been calling to check on us and they've made it clear to Alice that they think her behavior was unacceptable. My mom told me that Alice keeps saying she didn't mean it and that she was just frustrated about her own life, but my parents aren't buying that excuse and they've told her that being frustrated doesn't give her the right to attack people who have been helping her. I'm not changing my mind about the money or about requiring a real apology. Alice had no problem taking Matthew's fake money for two years, and she had no problem being excited about a potential vacation that he would have paid for, so her sudden concern about the legitimacy of his career is obviously just jealousy and bitterness talking.

Update 2. Six months later, Alice got evicted from her apartment. last week and showed up at my door at 11.30 p.m. on a Wednesday night with Jeremy, begging me to let them stay with us because they had nowhere else to go. She was crying and saying that she tried everything she could think of and that she was desperate, and Jeremy was half asleep and clearly confused about what was happening. It turns out that after I stopped giving her the $800 monthly payments, Alice couldn't make her rent and got behind by several months despite my parents helping her with some emergency money. She'd been working at a restaurant but couldn't get enough at.

hours to cover all her expenses, and when she asked for more financial help from our parents, they told her they would only consider it if she apologized to Matthew first and started taking responsibility for her actions. Alice apparently never made that apology and instead spent the last six months complaining to anyone who would listen about how Matthew and I had abandoned her and Jeremy over a misunderstanding, and she kept insisting that we should help her regardless of what had happened at the dinner. My parents told me that they'd offered to help with smaller amounts for Jeremy's immediate needs like food and school supplies, but they wouldn't pay her rent or major bills until she made things right with us. When Alice showed up at my door, she immediately

started talking about how Jeremy needed stability and how he'd already been through enough disruption in his life, and she said it would be cruel to punish him for her mistakes. She kept saying that Matthew and I had plenty of space in our house and that it would only be temporary until she could get back on her feet, and she promised she would apologize to Matthew and make everything right if we would just help her through this crisis. I told Alice that I sympathized with her situation and that I felt terrible that Jeremy was going through this, but that she'd had six months to apologize and try to repair the relationship, and instead she'd chosen to play victim and act like she was the one who had been wronged.

I said that showing up at my door with Jeremy in the middle of the night and trying to use him to guilt me into helping was manipulative and unfair to everyone involved. Alice started getting angry and said that I was being heartless and that family was supposed to help each other no matter what, and she said it was ridiculous that I was holding a grudge over something she said when she was having a bad day. I reminded her that she'd called my husband a glorified housewife and not a real man in front of our entire family, and that she'd been taking money from us for two years while apparently having no respect for how we earned it. I told Alice that if she was really desperate for help, she should try contacting Jeremy's father and asking him to step up and take responsibility for his son,

since he'd been completely absent from Jeremy's life and had never paid a penny in child support. Alice immediately said that wasn't an option because Jeremy's father was unreliable and had his own problems, but I pointed out that he couldn't be less reliable than someone who had just gotten evicted and was homeless with a child.

Alice started crying harder and saying that I was being cruel and that she never expected this kind of treatment from her own sister, but I told her that I never expected to have my husband insulted and humiliated at a family dinner by someone we'd been financially supporting for two years. I said that actions have consequences and that she'd had plenty of opportunities to make things right, but she'd chosen pride over responsibility every single time.

I gave Alice the number for a few local shelters and told her that my parents might be willing to help if she was ready to actually apologize and take accountability for her behavior, but that Matthew and I weren't going to be manipulated into helping someone who had shown such disrespect for our relationship in his career. I also told her that she needed to stop putting Jeremy in the middle of adult conflicts and that using a child as leverage was not going to work on me. Alice left angry and crying, and she's been sending me text messages ever since saying that I'm heartless and that I'll regret this when something terrible happens to Jeremy. She's also been calling my parents and apparently telling them

that I threw a homeless child out on the street and that Matthew has turned me against my own family, but my parents aren't falling for her manipulation tactics. My mom called me the next day and said that while she felt sorry for Jeremy's situation, she agreed that Alice had brought this on herself and that letting her move in without any accountability would just be enabling her behavior. My dad said that Alice had been given multiple chances to fix things and that she'd chosen to play victim instead, and that they wouldn't be providing any major financial help until she took responsibility for her actions. Matthew has been supportive throughout this whole situation and he even suggested that we could help Jeremy directly if Alice would agree to let him stay with my parents temporarily while she figured out her housing situation, but Alice refused because she said it would be splitting up her family.

Matthew said he felt bad for Jeremy but that we couldn't let ourselves be manipulated into helping someone who had been so disrespectful. I know some people will probably think I'm being too harsh, but Alice has had months to make this right and she's chosen to double down on her victim mentality instead. She's still never apologized to Matthew, and now she's trying to use her son as a weapon to force us to help her despite her continued disrespect. Final update, two months later, Alice showed up drunk at my house yesterday afternoon while I was at work and Matthew was home with our eight-year-old son, and the whole situation escalated to the point where the police had to be called and Alice was arrested for trespassing and disturbing the peace. According to Matthew, Alice started pounding on our front door around 2 p.m. and yelling for me to come out

and talked to her. When Matthew answered the door and told her I was at work, she immediately started screaming at him and calling him a pathetic excuse for a man and a leech who had destroyed my family by turning me against her. Matthew said he could smell alcohol on her breath and that she was clearly drunk and belligerent. Matthew tried to close the door and told Alice she needed to leave, but she pushed past him and barged into our house, continuing to yell and demanding to know where I was. My son came downstairs to see what all the was about, and Alice immediately started yelling at him too, saying that his father was a fake man who didn't have a real job and that my son should be ashamed to have Matthew as a role model.

Matthew said my son started crying because Alice was screaming right in his face and seemed completely out of control, and when Matthew tried to get between them and protect my son, Alice shoved him and told him to act like a real man for once in his life. Matthew immediately called 911 while Alice continued to rant and pace around our living room, and he took our son upstairs to his bedroom and locked the door until the police arrived. The police found Alice in our kitchen going through our refrigerator and still yelling about how Matthew had ruined her life and destroyed our family, and when they tried to talk to her calmly. She started screaming at them too and saying that they needed to arrest Matthew instead because

he was stealing money from children by not supporting Jeremy anymore. The officers could tell she was intoxicated and when they tried to get her to leave peacefully, she refused and said she wasn't going anywhere until she talked to me. Matthew showed the police the security camera footage from our front door that clearly showed Alice forcing her way into the house after being told to leave, and he explained the background situation with the family conflict and how Alice had been harassing us since her eviction. The officers arrested Alice for criminal trespassing and public intoxication, and they told Matthew he could also file additional charges for assault if he wanted to because Alice had pushed him. I got home from work just as they were putting Alice in the police car,

and she started screaming at me from the back seat about how I had destroyed her life and that everything was my fault for choosing a fake husband over my own sister. She kept yelling that Jeremy was going to grow up without a family because of my selfishness, and that Matthew had turned me into someone she didn't recognize. After the police left, I called my parents to let them know what had happened, and they were absolutely horrified by Alice's behavior. My mom, My mom started crying and said she couldn't believe Alice would yell at my son and scare him like that, and my dad said he was ashamed that his daughter would break into someone's house and terrorize a child. They immediately drove over to check on Matthew and my son and to apologize for Alice's actions.

It turns out that my parents had no idea Alice had been drinking, and they were shocked to learn that she'd been arrested for being drunk in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday. My mom said that Alice had been staying with them occasionally over the past few weeks when she could convince. them to let her, but that they'd noticed she'd been acting strange and emotional, and now they realized it was probably because she'd been drinking. My parents told me that they'd been trying to help Alice find stable housing and employment, but that she'd been sabotaging every opportunity by showing up late, acting unprofessionally, or getting into arguments with potential employers and landlords. My parents also told me that they'd been doing some investigation and found out

that Alice has been drinking heavily for at least the past month, and possibly longer. They found empty bottles hidden in their garage and realized that money they'd been giving her for groceries and Jeremy's school expenses had probably been going toward alcohol instead. They've decided that they can't let Alice stay with them anymore because of her drinking and because they're worried about Jeremy's safety, but they want a petition for temporary custody of Jeremy so he can have a stable home environment while Alice gets help for her alcohol problem. They said they love Alice but that she's become dangerous and unpredictable and that Jeremy needs protection from her behavior. My mom said that Alice's drinking probably explains why she's been so hostile and irrational about the whole situation with Matthew and me, and why she's been unable to maintain employment or housing despite their help. My dad said that they should have recognized the signs earlier but that they'd been making excuses for Alice's behavior because they wanted to believe she was just struggling with the stress of being a single mother. Alice is still in jail as of this morning because she couldn't make bail, and my parents said they're not going to help her get out until she agrees to go to read. rehab and get treatment for her drinking. They've contacted a lawyer about getting emergency custody of

Jeremy, and they've also spoken to the school and Jeremy's doctor about the situation to make sure he's getting the support he needs. I feel terrible that it took this long for everyone to realize how serious Alice's problems had become, and I feel guilty that my son had to experience her yelling and aggression yesterday. Matthew has been amazing throughout this whole situation and he's not holding any grudges against Alice despite everything she's put us through, and he's been focused on making sure he feels safe and loved. The police officer who handled Alice's arrest told us that we should consider getting a restraining order if Alice continues to harass us after she gets out of jail, and he said that her behavior yesterday showed clear signs of escalation that could become dangerous

if she doesn't get help for her drinking. Matthew and I are going to wait and see what happens with her legal situation and whether she gets into treatment, but we're definitely going to be more careful about our security and safety going forward. I hope you enjoy this story. Former spouse departed from me and our children for a lucrative position and ended our marriage after we relocated to a different town. Shortly thereafter, she encountered a distressing predicament and begged me to come back. About seven months ago, Emma, my ex-wife, 42F and I'm 44M,

moved away for her new job. She had been offered an upper management position in a company that she had applied to without my knowledge and the reason she had done so was because she knew that I would never agree to move away. We had been together for 12 years, married for 10 and we have eight-year-old twins together. Both our families are situated here and a few years ago, my father was diagnosed with leukemia. Since then, it's been very difficult for our family because my dad's health hasn't been great and we are always afraid of when we might lose him. Naturally, as his only son, I want to be here for him and also for my mother and so, I hadn't wanted to move away after my dad's diagnosis. I thought that Emma would understand what I was going

through, but instead, she told me that I was being a little too sensitive and that I can't just keep turning down opportunities to work out of state and expect her to do the same just because my dad was sick. Before my dad fell sick, we had actually been planning to move away because she wanted a change of pace but after my father's diagnosis, I told her that it would not be possible for me anymore. She tried to be understanding of it in the beginning but gradually, since last year or so, she had started to become very restless and we had been fighting quite frequently over this. She wanted to move away because she felt stuck here and I couldn't possibly think about moving away while my dad was in such a condition, especially since it would

also mean having to leave my mother to deal with it all on her own. Even if I had had any siblings, I wouldn't have been able to leave because my conscience wouldn't have let me. And I kept trying to explain that to Emma, but she refused to see my point, and I just felt like she was being selfish, whereas she felt like I was the one being selfish. And then, earlier this year, she just came home from work one day and told me that she had applied for a high-paying position in a company outside of state and she got the job. That came as a shock to me and I wanted to be happy for her, but I just couldn't because she hadn't told me anything about this application or this job. I was kind of in shock, so I just congratulated her and then I said nothing. That day,

I remember we got into an argument because she didn't think I was happy enough for her, even though it was a pretty big deal because I have to admit, it was a good job with decent pay. However, I was just upset that you hadn't even thought that she needed to talk to me about it before applying and she told me that she didn't even think that she would get the job but now that she had it, she was thinking of moving away and she wanted me to come along with her. She wanted to relocate our entire family, knowing what my feelings on this were. So we ended up fighting over that and it was one of our worst fights. It got so bad that she ended up leaving to go stay with her parents for a couple of days and we had no contact for those days, so I actually thought that she was going to file for a divorce and put an end to this.

But then, she came back home and we ended up deciding that we were going to try and patch things up between us because we still had the kids and we couldn't let them down. And back then, I thought that I could still make it work with her because I didn't want to let go of this marriage. I was sure that I loved her and she told me that she did too, which is why she wanted to make it work. But she also didn't want to give up on her dreams and so, after a lot of discussion, we decided that she was going to take up the job and I would stay back here. She told me that she was going to try and travel back and forth as often as she could, so we could make this work. We had no other option but to choose a long-distance marriage for now since neither of us was ready to give up on each other.

It was hard for me to agree, but I had to do it, at least for a while, before we could figure out what we wanted to do in the future. So then, she left and she would come back home every alternate weekend, but even then, she would only get to spend two days with us and take a flight back on Sunday evening since she would have to be back for work every Monday. It was tiring for her and I knew it, but there was nothing that I could do since she had agreed to this arrangement. With time, I guess she started resenting me, and her attitude towards me got worse. We had promised each other that we were going to try and make this work, but every time that I would try to call her during the week, she would always be really mean to me and we would

inevitably end up arguing about something or other. After a certain point of time, it started feeling like she didn't even want to speak to me, and instead of calling her on my own, I started waiting for her to call me first. And then, we started speaking less to each other, and even when we would talk, it was always very cold and weird, and I didn't know what to make of it. Then, eventually, after having spent almost four months away, she came home one weekend and had divorced papers with her. At the time, things were really tense between us and she told me that she couldn't do this anymore. When she came back home that weekend, we hadn't spoken for almost six days in a row because of the argument that we had the last time that we spoke. And I wanted to come up with a reason

not to get a divorce, but I couldn't come up with anything. Because the last fight that we had was one where she had actually thrown out the idea of separating and ending this marriage for good. I should have seen that coming because for months, not only had we been fighting, but she had also been getting closer to a certain friend of hers from high school. This friend, let's call her Melissa, was not a good person and was an even worse influence. Emma had always been good friends with Melissa and that woman had even been there as a bridesmaid at our wedding, but I had never liked her because she had always given off a weird vibe. From what I knew about her, she was a total gold digger and always went after rich married men so she wouldn't have to commit to them, but would still get the benefits of being with a rich guy. She would even brag about it as if what she was doing wasn't detestable enough.

When I used to bring up her behavior with Emma, she used to tell me that it was her personal choice. and that we shouldn't judge her. That was quite infuriating, so eventually, I just stopped talking about Melissa and decided to ignore that friendship altogether. It got easier eventually because after Melissa moved away, and Emma got caught up with work and kids, they kind of drifted apart. Anyway, I had known that Melissa had also been living in the same state with her son for a couple of years since she had moved away after her second divorce, probably to scout for new prey. Coincidentally, when Emma got a job in the same state, she reached out to Melissa and she was the one who introduced her to the city and helped her move in and stuff along with me. I was there all along, and I had hoped that maybe Melissa would have sober up after so many years but she was still the same weird person.

I was not comfortable with Emma being so close with Melissa once again, but she was the only friend that Emma had there, so I couldn't even say anything about it. In the months that Emma had been staying there, she had told me that Melissa had been really supportive of her since she was on her own and had even introduced her to a couple of her own friends. This so-called group that Melissa had introduced Emma to was very dicey because as far as I remember, it was three or four women who were all single mothers. They had met through Facebook and had a Facebook support group kind of thing together. From whatever Emma had told me, these women had all been with men and had kids with them but due to a Facebook support group kind of thing together. been with men and had kids with them but due to a variety of reasons, their partners had abandoned them and now, they were raising their kids on their own and the only support they got was a child support check. However, it was not as sad as it sounds because most of the women that Melissa

was friends with were just like her. They had gone for super-rich men, had affairs with them, got pregnant, and then when these men had decided to stay with their wives and families. These women managed to get them to pay a big fat child support check from them which supported their lifestyle. It actually wasn't just a support for them, it was also payment for them to keep their mouths shut since I'm assuming these men didn't want word of their affairs getting to their wives. It was very common for all of them to have some online business that nobody was really interested in but they were self-employed and wanted people to believe that they were doing it all on their own. But in reality, they were running a scam and proudly called themselves independent women who

had all the freedom in the world to live by their own rules, while living off of the money of men who had been stupid enough to fall into their traps. Emma thought it was funny but I thought it was disgusting and I didn't think that it was a good idea for her to be socializing with them. However, she kept offending her friends and told me that she had gotten to know them personally and they were all really nice women. And given how we were already fighting, about so many things, I didn't want to fight about that as well, so I didn't say anything. But then, in the last fight that we had before she filed for a divorce, she told me that she really admired Melissa's strength because even without any help from any man, she was raising

her two kids brilliantly on her own. I ended up scoffing at that and I told her that anybody who makes as much money from getting pregnant after an affair with rich guys would also probably be taking good care of the kids since that was not their child but a meal ticket for them. And that was what led to a huge blow-up fight between us because before that, we had been trying our best to keep a lid on our tempers but the frustration had just been building up for months and that day, that little disagreement over one thing was enough to set us both off. We started cursing at each other, telling each other exactly how much we hated the situation, and just kept blaming each other. After one point, she just said that if we were just going

to fight like this all the time, it was probably better for us to go our separate ways and then disconnected the call. I thought she didn't mean that and I thought that she was going to call me and apologize, but that never happened. And I was really upset with her as well, so I didn't bother to reach out either. That weekend, she showed up with the divorce papers and I decided to go ahead with it because I couldn't find a reason to stay with her anymore either. We had tried our best to make it work, but it didn't, unfortunately. And even the kids, the ones we were supposedly staying together for, hardly got to see us together and even when we were together, we were not happy. So rather than letting them grow up in a toxic environment, we decided to get a

divorce. The divorce process was relatively simple since we don't have a waiting period here in our state and we only had to divide our joint assets, which was simple enough. I got to keep the house and the kids since she didn't want to take them away with her right now and said that at the moment, we could stick to our arrangement of her coming back here every weekend to meet them. We had been splitting the cost of raising them anyway, so we continued to do that. Once they were a little older, we would leave it up to them what they wanted to do. It was not convenient for either of us, but we didn't want to fight for custody since we believed that our kids deserved both of us in their lives.

As for the house, we had a verbal agreement that we would put it up. for sale in a few years and whenever it sold, we would split the money. Anyway, the divorce was finalized about a month ago and I didn't think that she would speak to me after that because even while we were getting divorced, we hardly had anything to talk about outside of the meetings with our lawyers. Now that everything had been finalized, I was trying to cope with the situation since even though it actually felt like nothing had really changed since we were still going to stick to the same routine, life was definitely going to be pretty different for me now because I was no longer married to Emma. My kids were also very

confused about what was going on so I had to explain to them that their mother and I were no longer together, even though nothing exactly had changed. But last night, she decided to call me up again so we could sort things out between us and give our relationship another chance because apparently she had made a huge mistake and she wanted to reverse the divorce. I could tell that She had been crying and she was pretty much hysterical on the phone call. She started ranting about how she had unintentionally glamorized the lifestyle that Melissa and her friends have been leading and because of that group, she had decided to file for a divorce. She hadn't mentioned it to me earlier because she knew how I felt about Melissa, but after that last fight that we had, she had spoken to her group of friends, and they had told her to go for a divorce. She had been skeptical about it initially, but they talked her into it so, she spoke to her.

to a lawyer that they put her in touch with. But one month has passed since then and she has tried literally to get herself to move on, like dating apps and blind dates and even going out every other night but has only ended up hooking up with random people and that has only made her feel pathetic because at least with me, even when we were fighting. She knew that she loved me and I loved her. Now, she's just really lonely, and more than anything else, she also misses the kids. Her friends told her that this would pass, but she hasn't been able to get rid of the loneliness and the guilt after the divorce.

On top of that, her company had been doing pretty well when she joined, but she has had several pay cuts since then because apparently, they had kind of embellished how well they were doing to get her on board and her income now doesn't match what she had been offered initially. It's not just her, everyone in the company has been going through the same thing and they keep telling people that things will work out if they keep working hard, but she thinks, it's just so that they can retain their employees and that's another part of the reason why she wants to come back to me. She said that she really wanted me to consider it and reverse the decision to get divorced because she just misses her family and what her life used to be. But after she was done talking and explaining her situation to me, I just felt furious with her because I couldn't believe that she had allowed her stupid and immoral friends to talk her into getting a divorce. I had always warned her against Melissa, and I had also made it very clear

that I didn't like the company she was keeping after she moved away, but she never paid any mind to me. And now, they had turned out to be the reason that she ended up making the decision that she did. Had it been her own mistake, I might have even been all sympathetic towards her, but the fact that she had chosen to listen to people that I hated really got on my nerves. The audacity to call me up and start crying about all of these things as if it had all been very easy for me, just made me very upset, and I ended up snapping at her. And now she had to lie in it because I was not going to help her out here. In spite of everything, I had tried my very best to make this marriage work.

And I'm not talking about the last few months, I'm talking about ever since my dad fell sick. I had been fighting for our marriage relentlessly and for a while, so had she, but she had been immensely selfish for the past couple of years and that's how we had ended up here, divorced. The least she could have done while she had been staying away was at least try to understand my feelings and situation, but she allowed herself to get carried away by friends whom she knew I did not like. I told her that she was not a high school kid anymore and that a juvenile excuse like her friends had influenced her to make bad decisions was not going to work with me. She wasn't coming back home drunk to her parents, this was a very different situation and it had affected my life

and even the kids. And now, just because it's inconvenient for her, she wants to reverse the divorce. Firstly, of course, that's not how it works and secondly, even if it did, I wouldn't do it. I was really upset by everything she had told me right before that and I just couldn't hold back. So I told her that now, if she was feeling really lonely and guilty, then she should just ask her friends for help because I'm sure if they were the ones who had encouraged her to file for a divorce, they cared about her enough to take her in, if she was not doing well financially and support her emotionally as well. I was also very annoyed by the fact that she had basically just confessed that she had been hooking up with random people for the past month after our divorce. Technically, she was single, so she was allowed to do whatever she wanted, but it made me feel really uncomfortable and depressed because I felt like it had cheapened whatever we had

shared for the past 12 years. So I told her that I did not want her back in my life anymore, especially after the things she had just told me, and that I was going to make sure that the kids stayed with me because I was not sure if she was a good influence on them anymore. She started crying even harder and told me that she was ready to do anything it took to make things right, but I told her that she had made a decision and she had to live with it, and the kids and I did not need her anymore. Then, I hung up and blocked her. When I woke up this morning, I had several messages from my ex-in-laws and they were telling me that I shouldn't have said

the things that I did because she was already really low and it was not nice of me to kick her when she was down. They said that it was not necessary because she was already regretting everything that she had done and seemed to try and punish her more by telling her that the kids and I did not need her. I wouldn't have cared about what my ex-in-laws say, but they have been very kind to me after the divorce, so I don't know. I'd offer telling my ex-wife that I don't want her back and that the kids and I don't need her anymore. Update one, Hello, Guy. Thank you so much for all the support that you guys have shown for me in the comments. I don't know how to say it, but it really means a lot to me, knowing that so many people are on my side here.

And it means even more to me that so many of you have identified with my story and have reached out to let me know that things are going to be all right. It's very kind of you guys and I know that things are going to get better. It has been four days since I posted and I had blocked Emma after we had that conversation so she had hasn't been able to get in touch with me. But this weekend, she is supposed to come over to see the kids and spend some time with them, so I don't know what's going to happen then. For the past couple of months, ever since the divorce was initiated, she would just pick up the kids from my place and go to her parents' place to spend the weekend with them and occasionally

spend some time here with all four of us for some family bonding. But mostly, she would try to stay away for me and I was fine with it because it just made things easier for me. This weekend, though, it's anybody's guess. I'm actually kind of dreading having to see her because her parents have been very upset with me and have told me that the things that I said to her were so harsh that she has ended up crying every single time that they have called her after that. I haven't been responding to any of their messages because I don't really know what to say to them, but I feel kind of bad because I know Emma is kind of a really non-emotional person and I know that I really managed to hit her where it hurts because she's been crying so much.

Even though she hasn't exactly been kind to me and our circumstances haven't been the best, I still feel really sad for her because we could have had a great life and I feel like she ruined it all for herself. I did my best to make it work, but it's not like I can make the marriage work on my own without any help from her. I don't know what to say anymore, to be honest. Update 2 so Emma came over yesterday to pick up the kids and we ended up having a discussion about everything that had been said. It was clear from her appearance that she had been having a very hard time

and I could see it on her face and I found it really hard to be cold to her. So then she asked me if I would be willing to talk to her just for a bit, and I ended up agreeing. Once the kids were in their room, we got to talking and she told me that she was really sorry about everything. And she wasn't referring to the recent months, she was referring to the past couple of years because it had taken a lot for her to realize how selfish she had ultimately been and she even said that she did not deserve me. She told me that in the past few weeks, after the divorce, every time she would go out on a date or hook up with any guy, all she could think was how she wasn't sure if this was the kind of life that she wanted for herself and felt guilty for throwing it all

away. She had built it up all in her head, but it wasn't all that it was cracked up to be, and when she realized that, it was too late for her to do anything about it because she had already lost me. While talking, she started crying again, and I tried to come for her, but she told me that it would only make her feel worse because that just made her realize the kind of person I was and how badly she had treated me. It was kind of bittersweet, hearing her say these things about me because I would have really appreciated that when we were together, but now, I don't know what to say about it. Anyway, after a while, she told me that she had decided to quit her job and move back here so she could be closer to her family. She also wanted to spend more time with the kids because she had

already been losing out on so much time with them. It didn't seem worth it to stay outside for such little money and sacrifice so much. The only request she had for me was that she wanted me not to file for full custody like I had said I would, and I told her not to worry about it. I had said it in the heat of the moment, but I didn't have any intention of actually doing it because both she and I had always maintained that our kids shouldn't have to suffer and I knew that they missed their mom. So spending some more time with her would definitely do the kids more good and I would be supportive of that as well. After we were done talking, she apologized to me for everything once again and told me that I was a good man. She also promised me that she was going

to try and be a better mother and a better person and thanked me for even letting her speak to me after everything that happened instead of just shutting the door in her face. That got me a little emotional, but I didn't say anything and then she left with the kids. So that was it and I didn't actually expect things to turn out to be like this since I thought that she was going to come over and fight with me, but this was nice and unexpected. She has apologized and I'm not going to say that I forgive her and everything is in the past, but at least we are on the right track now. I don't think I can go back to her again, that's very unrealistic after everything that has happened. But the least we can do is try to co-parent our kids to the best of our abilities and make it as peaceful for them as possible.

And of course, it will be better for us as well. Now let's see what the future holds. Update 3. Hey, guys. Okay, so four months have passed since my divorce and after my last update, Emma stayed true to her word, and within a few weeks, she quit her job and moved back here. Since then, our kids have been splitting their time between the two of us. They spent half the week at my place and the other half at their mothers and it's been pretty convenient for them till now. Emma had been with her parents for a couple of weeks initially, but then, she was able to find

an apartment a few blocks away and the kids are having a lot of fun because they have two homes now. As for my ex-in-laws, we are back on normal terms. Of course, we don't speak to each other on a regular basis. but they have apologized to me for bothering me back when Emma was having her breakdown and they told me that it was not my fault, but as her parents. They were just really stressed out and they ended up blaming it on me because it was a bit of a knee-jerk reaction. Emma and I are also back on decent terms.

I wouldn't say good terms because it's not like we are friends, but we are cordial with each other and have kept things civil. I'm also slowly but surely moving on and trying to process everything that has happened and it's going well so far, and I'm hoping that it continues to get better after this as well. I hope you enjoy this story. A foster child departed from our family to reunite with her affluent biological parents and unexpectedly appeared at the memorial service for my spouse accompanied by a legal representative, seeking a share of the estate following a prolonged absence of eight years. Greetings, Reddit. I recently lost my husband and our ex-adoptive daughter showed up at the funeral to throw a tantrum, so I said and did some things that I'm going to

going to talk about in a while. But before that, let me give you guys some context about our family, so you guys are able to make a judgment. I, 47F, and my husband, 47M, had been together since we were in high school. We got married when I was 21 and at 25, we decided to start trying for a baby. Unfortunately, as it turned out, both of us were struggling with infertility issues and after almost two years of trying, we decided to adopt. We could have tried IVF, but we decided to adopt it on purpose because we wanted to do something good for the world. And we decided to adopt through the foster care system because we knew that there are many abandoned kids who could do so much better in life if they had the right kind of care and attention. That's how we first

met Elena, our daughter. She was four years old when we started fostering her since she had ended up in the first case system because her biological parents were addicts and she did not have any other family members willing to take her in. At five years of age, she was legally adopted by us after one year of fostering her, since her birth parents decided to give up their rights because they didn't think that they would ever be up to the task of raising a daughter and believed that she would be better off with us. We had a closed adoption, which meant that they wouldn't have any contact with Elena after she was adopted by us and they honored that agreement until she turned 18. I still find it hard to talk about, but when she turned 18, they decided to reach out to her and

asked her to come stay with them because they had finally cleaned up their act and really wanted her to give them a chance. And even though my husband and I had been her parents for most of her life, she decided to abandon us so she could stay with her biological parents. All of this had happened behind our back and by the time she had made the decision of leaving us, it was too late for us to fix it. Besides, I had kind of figured out exactly why she wanted to be with her biological parents and not us. It was because they were loaded and we were not, there's just no other way to say it.

I guess they had genuinely turned their lives around and had gone from being addicts who couldn't even afford rent, to a really influential business family. From what I know, Elena also had two biological siblings, a brother who was six years younger than her and a sister who was eight years younger. It's great that they had turned their lives around, but it did not prove to be so great for us because Elena decided to choose them over us and it really broke our hearts. I don't think either of us was ever able to move on from that, neither my husband nor I. We just made our peace with it, but that's just because we had two, we had no other option. Elena was 18 when she left, a legal adult, so we couldn't try to bring her back. So we just had to let her go.

But then, the more we thought about it, the less surprising it seemed because right from when she was really young, Elena had always been quite materialistic. It wasn't really a thing when she was too young, but by the time she hit middle school, we could see that she liked the good things in life. And we didn't have a problem with it, my husband and I, luckily, have never struggled with money and have had a comfortable life. But as she grew older, her demands grew more outrageous, and we had to start trying to discipline her because her expectations were really unrealistic. We were comfortable, yes, but we were not the kind of family who could just take time off from work whenever we wanted to just to go on vacation. We know the kind of family who could afford long trips to exotic locations or the kind of parents who could give her an exorbitant amount of pocket money so she could blow it all on clubs and parties. By the time she was 16, we were already having a lot of trouble dealing with her and were at our wits end to keep her under control because we didn't want her to become irresponsible and careless. But that's the way she was going and then, the situation got worse when around her 18th birthday, she was contacted by her parents and they decided to write her an email telling her everything about themselves.

A few years after she had been given up for adoption, they decided to clean up their act because it was a wake-up call for them, the fact that they literally had to write her an email. had to give up their baby because they couldn't take care of her. Their families had cut them off, so their friends and a couple of well-wishers arranged for them to start again. It was really difficult for them in the beginning because they were not exactly ideal candidates for any job, but they managed to turn it around. By the time they were pregnant with their second child, both of them had stable jobs and a decent income. And around the time that their third child was on the way, they had started their own business, dealing in kitchen supplies. With time, they just kept growing and finally, 14 years after they had given her up for adoption, they decided to reach out to her on her 18th

birthday to tell her that they wanted her back in their lives and give their family a shot again. They had thought about it a lot and were not sure if it would be the right move to make because they didn't want to disrupt her life as it was. They also had to think about the fact that theirs was a closed adoption and they were legally not allowed to get in touch with her without her consent, unless she tried to seek them out and reach out to them first. But they couldn't wait for that to happen, so they had to pull a lot of strings to find out more about Elena, just so they could speak to her. The sad part was that instead of telling us about the email, Elena decided to start meeting them behind our backs and began to build a relationship

with her biological parents without us knowing. That's how she was able to find out how rich they were and four months after her birthday, she decided that she was going to move in with them and try to become a part of their family. I still remember it as clear as if it was yesterday, the day that she decided to tell me and my husband that she had made up her mind, that she was going to go back to her birth family and give them a chance.

I distinctly remember how shocked we were when she made us read that email she had been sent by them on her birthday because we had never seen this coming, and she had completely chosen to ignore our shock and disappointment and told us that she had been spending a lot of time with them. While she had been telling us that she was going out with her friends, and she had realized that they were a better fit for her than we were, and there was a reason that she had been originally born into their family and not ours,

so now she would like to fix that. She told us never to contact her again because she wanted to give this a real shot and she wouldn't be able to if we kept trying to get in touch with her. She wanted to completely move on from her past and start a new life with her actual parents, and within the next couple of days, she had packed up her things and was gone. We didn't think about any legal recourse because it was pointless, though we could have done something about the fact that Elena's whereabouts had been revealed to her birth parents without consent. The bottom line was that she was gone now and we couldn't do

anything about it. It was not until later on that we stalked her on social media, spoke to a couple of her old friends and then, we found out that her birth family was extremely rich and that's why she was with them right now. She was living the life that we had denied her in the name of discipline. She was partying every weekend, going off on trips with her close friends and just doing every irresponsible thing that we didn't think was good for her. That was when we realized that we had pretty much just wasted 14 years of our life, raising Elena and trying to do our best as parents, when in reality, she was more interested in having money than us. It was really hurtful, but it was the truth, so we eventually had to come to terms with it. Almost eight years have passed

since then and it was really hard for us, but we managed to make our peace with it and move on with our lives. That doesn't mean that we didn't miss her anymore all of a sudden, but we just knew that she didn't want us in our lives, and after what she had done, I think it was for the best that we stopped wishing for her to come back as well because things could never be fixed after this. And then, three years ago, my husband was diagnosed with liver cancer. I tried my best to help him survive, but unfortunately, after a while, the treatment stopped proving to be effective and about a week ago, we lost him. Everyone knew him, knew that he had been suffering

and I find it unlikely that Elena had absolutely no idea because she was in touch with a couple of friends from school and they definitely knew about my husband's disease, since their parents, and sometimes even her old friends had reached out to me to offer condolences and support. So I knew that Elena must have found out, but didn't bother to contact us, which was quite disappointing but, thankfully,

I didn't have enough time to worry about it at the time. Anyway, a couple of days after he passed away, we organized his funeral and finally, Elena showed up after eight long years. Sadly enough, it was not for the purpose that you guys think, she was only here to demand her share of the inheritance and not to pay her last respects. I was surprised that she had even shown up but my husband had thought about it. He had even planned for this particular scenario and had left her a letter. I will get to the contents of the letter in a while, but before that,

I need to tell you guys exactly how she showed up at the funeral so you guys know how inappropriate and outrageous it was. She was wearing all black and stuff, that was not the problem. The problem was that she had brought along a lawyer with her to fight with me at the funeral because she thought that I was going to keep my husband's money and property for myself. When she came to talk to me and offered her condolences, I told her that I would speak to her later because I knew that she was building up to something, but she told me that she had to discuss it with me right then.

When I tried to explain to her that I was busy, she started throwing a tantrum, saying that she knew this was a tactic to distract her from the fact that there was going to be an inheritance and the least that I could do for her at this point was at least include her in whatever my husband had left behind. She was being really loud and annoying, so I decided to hand her that letter right then and there because that's what it had been left for. Now, coming to the contents of the letter, my husband had had the foresight to know that Elena would probably try to pull something like this off. So in the letter that he had left, he had made it very clear that in his will, he had left every single penny to me and all his property was going to be left to me as well. And he hadn't mentioned any names, but he had said that anybody who had not been involved in his life in the past couple of years after he fell sick, they had no right to demand anything at all and he owed them absolutely nothing. She made her lawyer read that as well and he did not look happy since in addition to his will. This letter in his own handwriting also reinforced everything that has been decided in his official will. And I was pretty satisfied with their immediate reaction.

You see, eight years had passed since Elena had left us to be with her family and a lot had changed in those years. My husband and I had taken over a branch of his uncle's business when he decided to expand and start something in our city as well. So we were handling that and it was quite profitable. So we had made a lot of money. granted, we had spent quite a lot of money on his treatment as well, but even then, we were left with quite a lot. Our lifestyle had improved quite a lot in the past couple of years and we had been living well. And I guess Elena is like a bloodhound at this point. She can just sniff out who is money and come to them to demand her share. That's what she did with her biological parents and now,

she intended on doing that with us. Any lawyer worth his salt probably would have known that in Elena a situation, she had no right to be demanding anything from us, especially since she was 26 and for the past eight years, she has had absolutely no contact with us. I don't even know what that guy was thinking, coming along with her, but I knew that that letter had dashed all her hopes of getting anything out of us. After reading the letter, a couple of times, she immediately started sobbing. And I don't mean the quiet kind of weeping while looking down at the floor, she literally started howling and threw herself onto me to give me a hug so she could cry on my shoulder. She started apologizing really loudly about everything that she had put us through in the past,

saying that she had been ungrateful and that she had learned her lesson but now, all she wanted was to be there with me. She kept telling me how sorry she was that she hadn't visited in the past eight years and hadn't even bothered to speak to her father, even after finding out that he was sick. She just kept apologizing for everything, but at that point, it was a little bit. too little and much too late. Besides, I was disgusted by the fact that she had gone from throwing a tantrum for the sake of the inheritance to pretending to be sad about my husband's demise within a couple of seconds, as soon as she found out that we didn't want anything to do with

her anymore. I felt like it was all an act that she was putting up, so she could mourn with me and show me how sorry she was so I would cut her some slack and take her back. I didn't know exactly what was going on in her life, but I knew that she was in some sort of trouble, because otherwise, I didn't think she would come back here, especially not with the purpose to demand her share of the inheritance, given that her biological parents were pretty well off. I had realized all these things why she had been reading together, so when she had been crying on my shoulder, I was so disgusted that I threw her off within a couple of seconds and she was shocked that I had shoved her. I then told her to stay away as loudly as I could, because, at

that point, I really didn't care about my volume, I was so upset. I told her that I did not want her in my house anymore and that she was making a mockery out of my husband's funeral with her antics. I told her that this was not the place or the time for her to be putting up a show and that I wanted her to leave. She made the mistake of trying to tell me that she was here as family, so I literally laughed out loud. And I told her that families are usually formed by either relation of blood or by relations of love. And she had to be a lot. And she had to be a lot of had never been related to us by blood, but in the beginning, we had at least loved each other like a family does. But eight years ago, when she left to stay with her biological family and abandon us

because we were not as well off as them, she cleared that misconception for us as well. So no, she was not our family at all and I wanted her to go away. After I yelled at her, she finally left and people started trying to comfort me because I was obviously very upset. For the rest of the day, I just got the funeral over with and then, I was too emotionally and physically exhausted to think anything else so I just crashed. Then, when I woke up the next morning, I saw that I had several messages from an unrecognized phone number and I'm assuming it was Elena. How she had been able to find my contact, I don't know, but anyway, I was right about her going through a tough spot. Apparently, after living with her biological family for four years, things started changing.

They had been quite supportive of her lifestyle in the beginning, but after that, they started getting annoyed with her for spending way too much money. And she, like a fool, refused to change her ways and even though she did get a job to keep them from complaining about how she was depending on them too much, she didn't really take it seriously and blew all her money on maintaining her extravagant lifestyle. So basically, it was her irresponsible and callous attitude that led to her falling out with her biological family as well. About four years ago, they finally told her that they couldn't support her anymore because it was clear that she was planning on mooching off of them for the

rest of her life and they didn't think that it was fair because even though she had come back to spend time with them and build a relationship with them. She was so busy trying to show off for the world that she had barely spent any actual time with them. So they wanted her to move out, get her own place and start living separately. They were open to her having a relationship with them, but it had to be for more than just the sake of money since they had started to feel like she was using them, which they were right about. She had a huge fight with them and moved out,

but didn't contact them again, purely because of her overinflated ego. They didn't try to get back in touch with her either, and she knew that she couldn't come back to us after everything that had happened. She was too embarrassed and ashamed. So for the past four years, she had been trying to make it on her own,

but it had been pretty difficult for her because the job market was tough and she hadn't even been to college. Even when she found out about my husband's sickness, she had intended on reaching out to us. But then again, it was the fear of rejection that had stopped her. And for not getting back in touch with us, she was really sorry and said that she genuinely meant her apology for everything that she had put us through. But, she was also very disheartened by the fact that I had told her that she was not our family on the day of the funeral. She told me that the lawyer that she had come with was actually one of her friends and he had suggested that he come along with her, so he could at least try to reason with me before they tried to contest the will because she was sure that she wouldn't have received anything after everything that had happened.

However, now, after she had spoken to me and been there for her dad's funeral, she didn't want any part of the inheritance anymore, but she just wanted me to forgive her and take back what I said about her not being my family. She also told me that the only reason she had even come by to demand part of the inheritance was because she actually wanted to put that money to good use and go to college, so she could get a degree and do something better with her life instead of the disappointing jobs that she had to stick to right now. Simply because she didn't have any other option. But I really don't feel like forgiving her right now and yet, I feel like I would be a pretty bad person if I didn't.

I have been holding out on making a decision for the past one week and now, I feel like it's time to make up my mind instead of going back and about this inside my own head constantly. So Wipta, if I refused to take back what I had said to my adoptive daughter, that she was not my family? Update 1, Hello, Reddit. First of all, I would like to thank everybody who took out the time from their day to comment on my post and give me advice, comment about their judgment and for all the condolences. I know that my husband is in a better place now and while I do miss him and think that if he had been here, I would have found it much easier to deal with this dilemma, I also think that I need to respect his wishes as well. It was pretty clear to me that he didn't want anything to do with

Elena anymore and I really don't want anything to do with her either. I had become quite emotional since she had returned so suddenly, and on top of that, I was also coping with the loss of my husband. So I wasn't thinking straight, but I don't think Elena deserves to be forgiven. Even when she showed up on the day of the funeral, it was an intention to demand her inheritance. She didn't show up because she cared for her so-called family. And with that in mind, I finally responded to her message and told her that I was not going to take anything back and neither was I going to forgive her. She had dug her grave, and now she needed to lie in it. There was nobody who could fix this for her because the situation that she had created was just that nasty. I wished her the best for the future

and then I told her never to speak to me or try to contact me again. Then, I blocked the number that she had texted me from. As for who had given her my contact info or my address, since my husband and I had moved away a couple of years ago, I don't know who did any of that, but when I find out, they will definitely pay for it. Update 2, I just found out who it was who had told Elena where I live, and what my contact info is,

and surprisingly, it was my mother. I didn't see that coming because she had known, about how terrible things have been with us, but she told me that Elena had said she wanted to come apologize to us. So she really had no idea that this is what she was going to do and she apologized to me, wholeheartedly forgiving my personal information to Elena without asking. And I forgive her because honestly, she's getting up there and I'm sure her intentions were not bad. Had it been anybody else in her place though, I'm not sure I would have had the same opinions, but my mother is in her 70s now and I've already lost my husband. I don't know. I don't

don't want to get into a fight with her as well, especially when she was just a bit misguided, but didn't have any bad intentions. And she has apologized, so that's that. Update 3, Hello, Reddit. Six days ago, I had blocked Elena's number after sending her that message and I really didn't think that she would try to get back in touch with me again. But she showed up to my house once again today and I refused to let her in, but she just kept sobbing right outside my door and kept telling me that she was really sorry about everything but she just needed to speak to me and I really had to give her a chance to explain herself. It was incredibly hard for me to deal with that kind of thing because I'm still grieving and I'm not in a very emotionally stable

place right now. So I kept telling her to leave, that I couldn't deal with this at the moment and that I really needed some space, but she refused to go and kept telling me that she really needed to talk to me. I would have called the cops under normal circumstances, but she was sobbing so. hard that I couldn't find it in me to do it. It might sound strange, but even though she is a grown woman now, all I could hear was that little kid whom we had brought home who would cry at almost everything. So, I ended up opening the door to let her in. It took a few minutes to compose herself, but once she did, she immediately started apologizing

to me for everything once again. So I had to cut her off and I told her that, the only reason I had brought her in so she could stop crying and I could tell her that was not enough place to process. or accept her apology right now. A lot has happened and everything has changed, so accepting her back into my life is not going to be a piece of cake. And she needed to realize that whatever had happened in the past eight years, I couldn't just forget it because she had apologized for it.

So she really needed to give me my space, especially when I was already dealing with something so big right now, the loss of my husband. That man was the love of my life and he's gone now, and I need to cope with my emotions regarding that first and only then can I even think about her. I explained that to her as politely as I could, and after a few minutes of silence, she told me that she understood and that she would be waiting for me to contact her. She scribbled her contact info on a notepad and told me that she was going to leave me

alone now, that she was still very sorry about everything and she was even sorry about behaving like that, and then she finally left. I don't know if I'm going to be using that contact info to get in touch with her any time soon, but I'm glad that both of us got the closure that we kind of need, so I really don't regret inviting her in so I could speak to her and get this out of the way. Update 4. Hi, Reddit. Five months have passed since I lost my husband and slowly, but surely, I've been trying to get my life back to normal. Although, I'm not sure what normal means anymore because for me, a normal life always included my husband's comforting presence. Now that he's not here, I'm just getting used to doing everything that I used to do before, just without him.

It's nice that I have my work, his uncle's business, to handle here since he and I used to work together. I have to do it all on my own now, so at least that keeps me occupied. The rest of the time I have, I try to fill it by keeping in touch with my family and friends, but most of the time, I just stick to television and books. It hasn't been easy, but I'm getting used to it now. Now, the million dollar question, did I reach out to Elena? Or did she reach out to me? Well, for better or for worse, I haven't reached out to her yet, and she has respected whatever I had said to her during our last waiting and hasn't reached out to me either. So we are sticking to our no-contact agreement at the moment.

Maybe someday in the future, we will be able to figure it out and I'll be able to forgive her but right now, I'm not in the place to do that and that's okay. I just want to focus on my own life. I hope you enjoy this story. My guardians left me out of the ideal family holiday picture because of my size and wheelchair usage. I informed my grandmother, who then modified her estate plans, causing my guardians to panic. Out. I, 17F, have a younger brother, Nathan, 15M, and I always had this feeling that my parents preferred him over me. Nathan is adopted, my parents adopted him around nine years ago, but he fits right in with our family. In fact, I would even say that he looks more like a part of my family, and like the kind of child that my parents should have than I do.

I'm not saying this because I want to, but because my parents have joked about this several times, but I feel like they really don't mean it as a joke. My family is really conventionally attractive, and I'm not even kidding, they could be on the cover of some family magazine. I, unfortunately, don't really fit in. I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes as a kid and that made it very difficult for me to lose weight. My parents tried to control my portions and whatever I consumed was strictly monitored by them, but that's no way to live and I used to literally have to eat in secret because it genuinely felt like they were starving me. It was already very difficult for me to maintain a healthy weight and because of my irregular eating habits, it became impossible for me to lose weight and I'm going to be honest, I'm quite overweight now.

And then around six months ago, I was unfortunately diagnosed with fibromyalgia and for the past three months, I have been forced to intermittently use a wheelchair because the symptoms are so severe and I have flare up quite frequently, but I don't really know what the reason for that is yet so I can't even prevent that from happening. Life had already been pretty difficult for me earlier since I had been an introverted kid and even at home, the way I was treated was not exactly ideal. But now, after my diagnosis, things have taken a turn for the worst. Earlier, I was just overweight, but now, I am that fat kid in a wheelchair. I was struggling mentally and my parents did not do anything to help me improve my situation.

Instead, they started making it even worse for me because, from their behavior, it was pretty apparent that they considered me a burden on their family. So I just started restricting myself to my room as much as I could because I really did not want to bother them and it is incredibly lonely, but I can't help it. I really don't want to feel like I'm constantly disappointing everyone around me. I always kept feeling like they didn't really want me as part of their family, but I would deal with it by shaking these thoughts off. However, after the incident that took place a couple of weeks ago,

it became much more difficult to just do that. Almost three weeks back, my parents were discussing the Christmas postcard that we sent out every year to the rest of the family, and the next day, like every year, I got dressed in a red outfit and went to the living room so I could be a part of the family photograph. It's been a ritual for years, and I thought that even though everything had changed,

at least this would remain constant and I would still continue to feel like part of my own family. But they took that away from me as well. As soon as they saw me, they got really awkward and said that they had thought that maybe this time, it would only be the three of them because I was in a wheelchair that day

and they didn't want to spoil their photograph. I was shocked that they would even say something like that, but I tried to bargain with them. I said that I would try to stand for a couple of pictures and it really wouldn't be that bad for me, but they insisted that I should stay in the wheelchair and just let them take the photos. That made it very obvious to me that they did not want me in the picture anyway, in the most literal sense of the phrase. So I went back to my room and I cried myself to sleep, and the worst part was that nobody

even came by to check on me. It was a horrible day towards the end of a horrible year and I just couldn't bear it. So that day, I finally called my grandmother up, and I told her everything that was going on. My grandma is my dad's mother and she's a wonderful person. My grandpa passed away when my dad was just 10 years old and since then, she has built a life for herself from scratch. She's really strong and inspirational and she loves me more than anyone else. I would have gone to live with her, but I was really holding out on the fact that at some point,

my parents would probably change and treat me better. But that day, I realized that it was never going to happen. My grandmother knew that my parents didn't exactly treat me well and several times. She had asked me to move in with her if I wanted to and that day, I told her that I really wanted to go away. I wanted to leave this house and live with her because clearly, I was not wanted here. I had known that for a really long time, but I had still been fighting with myself, trying not to believe it because at the end of the day, They were still my parents, and this was my family. But if this was my family, I was probably better off without one. She was the one who was there for me that day.

She calmed me down and comforted me on the phone while I continued to sob. She also told me that she would be there in a couple of days, as soon as she was back from her cruise with her friends, and then she would take me away with her. Yeah, my grandma has a pretty cool lifestyle. Anyway, I made her promise that she would take me away and after that, I did not say anything to my parents because I had realized that it was not worth it. They did not even bother to apologize to me after that particular incident, for excluding me from the photograph. They pretended like everything was normal and so did I, because I knew that I was going to be

rescued from this place soon enough. And my grandmother, true to her word, showed up at our place last week. For seven entire days, I had barely spoken to my parents or Nathan. All I did was go to school, come back home and then stay in my room for the rest of the day. But on the day that my grandmother visited, I was the one to open the door to her and invite her in. My parents did not have a clue about what was going to happen, so they seemed pretty around and were acting as if everything was normal. But my grandmother was having none of it. So she asked them why exactly hadn't I been included in the Christmas postcard as soon as she was seated. The postcards hadn't even been sent out yet. So my parents were really confused as to how she found out.

But then, they figured out that I must have told her about that incident and instead of acting apologetic for it, they turned to me and rolled their eyes at me, saying that I had no reason to make a big deal out of it and complained to my grandmother about that. They offered the same explanation once again. They did not want to bother me by having me stand up for the picture and if I had my wheelchair in the photo, it would spoil the photograph.

So far, I hadn't said, anything. But then, I took the opportunity to point out that I had told them that I was fine with standing up for a couple of minutes, but they were the ones who had refused and that obviously meant that they really did not want to be in the picture. I pointed out that they had always treated me like an outsider in my family because I did not fit in with them, even though that was not even my fault. I told them that it was ironic that, even though Nathan was adopted, they treated him actually their flesh and blood, as opposed to me. They only considered me a burden and even though Nathan and I used to be close when we were children,

he had observed the way that our parents treated me and had chosen to distance himself from me as well. So in the end, I was left with absolutely no one in this household. At least then, Nathan had the good sense to look away because he knew whatever I was saying was true. My parents got mad at me instantly for saying that Nathan was adopted as if he didn't know. Obviously he was aware of it because he was six years old

when he came into our family and I had never thought of him less as my brother just because he was not biologically related to me. But my point was still true, that he always received the treatment that I did not because he looked the part, like my parents' kid, and I did not. And maybe, I had kind of started resenting all of them a little bit because of how I was being treated. Even then, my parents did not take the opportunity to apologize or even act like they were sorry. They just said that I was acting spoiled, and I was being nasty by bringing up the fact that Nathan was adopted just to justify my behavior. They even went on to say that they expected an apology from me now.

I was about to argue even more, but I guess my grandma had had enough by that point. She intervened and said that there was no need for that. She was here to prevent exactly this kind of mistreatment from taking place anymore. Looked confused, so she told them that she was taking me off their hands since they had never bothered to hide the fact that they considered me a burden on the family. I was turning 18 in a couple of months, so there was no real need to bother with custody and whatever. I could just go live with her and it would be completely fine. My parents seemed shocked for a couple of minutes, nobody said anything, but then, they said

that if my grandmother really wanted to take me with her, then she was free to do so, they were not going to stop me. They didn't even put up a fight, and it just proved all my theories to be true. They really didn't want me to be a part of the family. With me gone, it would just be my parents and Nathan and then, they could finally have the picture perfect family that they have always wanted. When my parents said that they were fine with my grandmother taking me away, I thought that we were going to leave immediately, but my grandmother just smiled and said that they had acted

exactly the way she had expected them to, and then, she brought out some papers. She said that she should have done this a long time back and told my parents that she was cutting them out of her wheel. And now, after she passed away, everything that she had, would go to me and Nathan. At first, I did not realize the implicotones of this, but I guess my parents did because they immediately flew into defense mode and said that it was incredibly unfair for her to treat them like that just because I was brady and entitled. I guess I hadn't really thought about it, but my grandmother is pretty wealthy since she was

one of the top real estate agents before she retired a couple of years back. So it would make sense for her to have a lot of money. and I hadn't really thought about it because I love my grandmother for who she is, not because of her money, unlike my parents. Anyway, then she told my parents that she would not be leaving anything to them, and even showed them the paperwork for it. They started bawling and said that she was being horrible and that she just couldn't do this to them.

But my grandmother literally did not care. She just told me to go back to my room, pack everything that I needed, and then come along with her. Thankfully, I had pretty much kept everything packed since I had a week to prepare for this. and I only had to drag everything out. Even when I was doing that, my parents just kept crying, begging, and bargaining with my grandmother, but she just ignored them. Nathan did not say anything, he just sat quietly in a corner, trying to disappear from the room itself.

While I was leaving, he was the only person who bothered to say goodbye to me, and my parents were too busy trying to argue with my grandma to even notice that I was also leaving. Soon enough, we had driven away, and since then, I've been living. living with my grandma. Her place is a lot closer to my school as well, so I get to sleep in a lot longer since I don't have to wake up early for the bus and I can just walk to school. I feel like I should have switched to living with her earlier than I did, but at least it's better late than never. My parents have not bothered to contact me since I left, but Nathan sent me a text soon after. He acknowledged the fact that I had never treated him badly, but he had actually distanced himself

from me and maybe unknowingly, he had allowed the way that our parents treated me to influence his behavior towards me as well. He hadn't even realized until I had brought it up, but now that he knew about it, he wanted to make it up to me by apologizing. He said that he was really and truly very grateful for this family because had it not been for us, he probably still would have been stuck with his biological parents and had a much worse life. He was not just thankful to my parents for adopting him but also to me for always treating him like my own brother and to my grandmother as well. Nathan told me that he wanted to have a fresh start with me and so, we have been hanging out at school so we can repair our relationship. It's been a bit weird for the

past couple of years, ever since he turned 13. He had been very distant from me, but now, I feel like I'm slowly getting back to the old Nathan, who used to put me on a pedestal. Anyway, this is not about that, it's just that he said something to me in passing yesterday while we were hanging out that really stayed with me. While talking, I just said. happened to ask what was going on at home because I couldn't resist wanting to know what my parents were up to. Nathan told me that the situation at home was not looking too good because apparently, the blame game between my parents had started already. My mom was blaming my dad for pushing me away my entire life, and even for the incident that took place the other day because apparently,

it had been his idea not to include me in the picture. My dad blamed her for making me feel like I was a burden because most of the time was my mother who would overreact, and it felt as though having me as a child was the toughest job in the world for her. Nathan told me that at the rate that things are going, he's afraid that they might file for a divorce and he mentioned it to me very casually, but I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since then. And I know that it's very stupid of me to think about it and even consider this possibility, but it's just that, I have started feeling like if they get divorced, it might be my fault. It might be because I overreacted reacted because maybe they genuinely did not mean to make me feel like a burden or whatever,

they probably did not even intend to offend me on the day of the photo shoot, but I took it to heart. I honestly don't know what to think, but I don't know for a fact that I will be very upset if my parents decide to get divorced, no matter what is going on with me and them right now. I feel like an idiotic doormat for even considering these things, but I can't help it. It's just what's going on in my head. And I have tried everything to push it out of my mind, but I just can't do it. So that's why I'm here since I feel like I need reassurance right now and there is no better place to seek that unbiased and objective opinion than Reddit. So, Ida for getting offended that my parents didn't want me in the family photo for our Christmas postcard and telling

my grandmother about it? Edit. Okay, so just to clear up a couple of things, my grandmother changed her will and left everything to me and Nathan because our parents had screwed up, but Nathan had not. I will admit that the way he had been behaving with me had not. I will admit that the way he had been behaving with me had not exactly been nice, but again, he's just a kid and so am I. He's not even close to 18 and I think he deserves a chance to redeem himself. Both my grandmother and I believe that he does not deserve to be punished and pushed away by his family because of what our parents did. If we act the same way, there's literally no difference between us and my parents. So I think it was pretty fair for my grandmother to include Nathan and the will as well. And as for people who were

asking about his birth parents, his mom was around 19 when she had him and had to drop out of college for that and the cherry on top, she was struggling with substance abuse too. Nathan's father, unfortunately, took off a couple of months after he was born and came back in his life intermittently. My parents knew Nathan's biological mother's cousin since they went to college together, which is how my parents were able to find out about Nathan. Nathan's maternal grandparents had tried to give their daughter several chances to clean up her act and be a good mother to him, but she just couldn't do it. So when Nathan turned six, his grandparents decided to talk their daughter into giving him up for adoption because not only was

she ruining her life, but she was also spoiling his future. And my parents, coincidentally, had been thinking about adopting a second child because they wanted another kid, but my mother's first pregnancy had been pretty complicated and she did not want to take the risk a second time. So Nathan's aunt spoke to my parents, and they fostered Nathan for a while before officially adopting him. His grandparents have stayed in touch with him. He meets them every month, but he has never met his parents after he got adopted. His mother claims that it's too hard for her to see him again and his dad has just disappeared from his life entirely. Ever since then, he has been my brother. There has been no debate about it. I might have brought up the fact that he was adopted and I kind of feel

guilty about it. I shouldn't have done that. But I was just very frustrated and in the heat of the moment, I kind of lost the plot. But I have apologized to him for it since then, and we are trying to get back on good terms, because I really don't want to lose him. We lost each other for a couple of years because of our parents, but we are not going to happen again. In fact, I have even told him that if things get too hard for him back at home because of how much our parents are fighting, he is welcome to come live with me and our grandmother. Update 1, hello, thank you so much for all the comments. Thank you so much for all the support that you guys have shown me. It's been overwhelming for me to deal with it, but it makes me feel better to know that there have been a lot of people who have

been in a similar kind of position because I was feeling really alone before this. However, knowing that you guys have made it through, gives me hope. I took the suggestion that most of you guys had, I spoke to my grandmother about what I was feeling like I was responsible for my parents fighting. And she, like everyone else, told me that I had nothing to feel sorry about. I had finally taken a stand for myself. After years of tolerating the way they had mistreated me, there was nothing wrong with that. I had done literally everything in my power to make them realize what I was worth. I had put up with them for so many years and tried to assimilate myself into their family, but they kept rejecting me and pushing me away again and again.

And now that they did not have anybody to blame, they had turned on each other instead. That's really not my fault and I don't need to beat myself up about it. And that's true, I guess. Right now, my parents don't have anybody to blame in the household, and they don't want to take it out on Nathan. So they are taking out all their anger and frustration on each other. If they get divorced, it'll be very sad, but it's not. going to be my problem. And if they decide to stay together, that's still better for them. Whatever happens, I'm going to stay out of it. I have spoken to Nathan about this as well and he told me that he had just told me what was going on at home because I had asked, but he did not intend to make me

feel guilty about it. And I know that, so I told him that it was not his fault anyway, but I just wanted him to know that if he wants, then he can come live with me because I know that he might end up blaming himself as well, and I don't want that for him. He told me he would think about it, but right now, he would prefer to stay with our parents because he still owes them this much. And I kind of understand where he's coming from. So I have no grudges against him. We have promised each other that no matter what happens with the rest of the family, we are not going to allow that to turn us against each other. And I'm really hoping that we are able to stick to that.

Update 2, hi, so my parents came to visit me today. When I came back home from school, they were here. sitting in the living room with my grandmother. As soon as I walked in, she told me that they were there to talk to me. But I was in no mood to talk to them since I had had a pretty crappy day at school as well. So I told them that whatever it was that they had to say, they could put it in an email or they could come by later because I was really exhausted and I just needed to take a nap. But they told me that they had specifically taken time off from work to talk to me because they wanted to take me back with them. I would be leaving for college in a couple of months, so they wanted to spend the last

couple of months before I left with me. They said that they were there to apologize if I had felt offended by their behavior. Now people can say that I have been nitpicking, but I really don't like the way that they phrased it. Because what does it even mean to say that they were sorry that I felt offended by their behavior? Their behavior was offensive, that's why I felt offended. I knew that I had been doubting myself for a couple of days, but circumstances have changed now. I know that everyone agrees that what they did and the way that they treated me was unacceptable. So I told them that the only reason I had been so upset was because the way they treated me was not right. I was offended because what they had done was offensive, there was no question of an if situation

arising. But instead of taking that in their stride and correcting themselves, they told me that even I had been very distant from them. So of course they had no eye. idea what I was going through. It just made me realize that no matter how hard I tried or how hard anyone tried, my parents were beyond apologies. I told them to leave because I knew that they were just going to try and gaslight me further into believing that this was all my fault and eventually get me to apologize to them instead. I wanted to save myself the trouble, so I just told them to leave. But they refused to even get up and said that they were not going anywhere until I had sat down and dignified everything with the discussion because they deserve that,

at the very least. I was just trying to make it clear to them that I was not going to apologize to them because I knew that they were going to try and gaslight me further into believing that this was all my fault and eventually get me to apologize to them instead. I didn't even want to argue. I just rolled my eyes and started to go back to my room and then my dad yelled at me and said that I was not allowed to leave without talking to them. Thankfully, my grandmother was right there. and she was not going to let this kind of behavior fly in her house. So she told my dad to keep his mouth shut and his voice low because after the way he treated me,

he had no right to scream at me just because I had made the right choice for myself and left them. She instructed my father to apologize to me and said that if I did not want to speak to him, there was nothing that she could do and that they had to leave. Because she was not going to allow them to mentally harass me again and again, just because they were worried about their reputation and their image. They were obviously only here to get me back with them as they were worried about what people would think if they discovered that I had moved out and was living with my grandma. But I didn't care, I had my own future to look out for. My parents tried to speak to me again, but I just told them to leave me alone because everything was still too fresh and I was not going to move on any time soon.

So eventually, they had to leave because my grandma was not going to allow them to stay much longer. After they left, she asked me if I wanted to see them again, and I told her that for a while, my answer would be no. So the next time that they try to visit, my grandma is not going to invite them in. I spoke to Nathan about their visit as well and he told me that he had no idea and they just come back home a couple of hours ago. They looked very disappointed and nobody had even come out of their rooms in a while. I guess it's pretty depressing for him, but I can't help it, it is what it is.

Update 3, Hello, Folks. So I'm leaving for college in a week, I got into my first choice and I'm really looking forward to my future now. It's going to be very difficult being on my own, but my grandmother has made all the arrangements prior to the move and she's going to stay with me and help me settle into my apartment for the first couple of weeks. My parents and I have not spoken for the last couple of months and my mental health has improved considerably. I'm no longer breaking down randomly during the day. So I guess staying away from them has had its benefits. Nathan has told me that things have pretty much gone back to normal in the household, and I guess they are also not any worse off without me, which makes me feel a little bad,

but I'm happy for Nathan. We have obviously kept in touch and we are going to try and get on FaceTime at least once every week. I'm going to miss my life here, but I'm excited for the future. Thanks for checking in on me. I hope you enjoy this story. Former spouse left us 15 years in the past, and now she has returned with her partner insisting on having legal control of my daughter. I am known as Tom, a 35-year-old male, and I suppose you could describe me as in a situation I never thought I'd be in. This all started back when I was just 20 years old, I met Megan, 35F, during our junior year of high school.

She was everything to me, smart, funny, and we just clicked in a way that made it seem like we were. were meant to be together. We were inseparable. We didn't get married, though. Marriage felt too big, too permanent, and honestly, we thought we had all the time in the world. We were just living life, two young people in love, trying to make it in the world. Back then, I was working my ass off trying to build a career in finance. I started off as an intern, getting coffee and running errands, but I knew that if I worked hard enough, I'd eventually move up. Megan, on the other hand, was a barista at a local coffee shop. She didn't make much, but we were surviving.

We lived in this tiny apartment, but it didn't matter because we hit each other. Life was good, or at least it seemed that way. Everything changed when Megan got pregnant. It wasn't planned, but we were excited in our own way. We were scared, sure, but we think. thought we could handle it. When our daughter, Mia, was born, it was the most beautiful, terrifying day of my life. Megan went through a brutal 14-hour labor, and I could see the toll it took on her. After Mia was born, Megan seemed different. She was struggling, but I thought it was just because

of the exhaustion from the labor. I had no idea how bad things were going to get. The first few weeks after Mia was born were rough, to say the least. Megan became distant, almost like she was a different person. She'd spend hours just staring out the window, and when she did speak, it was to criticize me. She'd snap at me, call me useless trash, and it felt like nothing I did was ever good enough. I tried to be understanding, thinking it was just the stress of being a new mom. I was doing my best to juggle everything, work, taking care of Mia, and trying to support Megan, but it was overwhelming. I'd come home after a long day, completely drained,

only to find that Megan hadn't even touched me as things. She'd be sitting there, doing nothing, while our daughter cried in the next room. I didn't know what to do. I was terrified of saying the wrong thing and making it worse. Then, one day, I came home from work, and the house was eerily quiet. I walked into Mia's room, and there she was, crying her little lungs out in her crib. She'd been left alone for hours. I frantically searched the house, but Megan was gone. Her clothes, her personal items, everything was gone. No note, no explanation,

nothing. I tried calling her, but her phone was off. I contacted her parents, her friends, anyone who might know where she went, but no one had any answers. After months of searching, to accept that she wasn't coming back. She had abandoned us, just like that. Adjusting to single fatherhood was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. In the beginning, I was a mess. I was sleep deprived, stressed out, and constantly worried that I wasn't doing enough for Mia. But I had a lot of support from my parents and my sister. They stepped in to help whenever they could, and I don't know how I would have managed without them. Slowly, I figured. out how to balance work and taking care of Mia. It wasn't easy, but I made it work because I had to.

As Mia grew up, I made sure she had everything she needed. She was a happy, well-adjusted kid despite everything. I was honest with her about her mother leaving, but I kept the details vague. I didn't want to burden her with the full story, at least not until she was older. Mia was a bright, curious child, and she asked questions, but I always tried to to keep my answers simple and reassuring. For years, my focus was entirely on Mia and my career. I didn't date much, didn't really have the time or energy for it. But when Mia turned 12, I met Olivia, 33F. We took things slow, and she was incredibly understanding of my situation. Olivia and Mia got along well, and that was important to me. After a while, Olivia and I fell in love,

and we've been together ever since. Life was good, my career had taken off, Mia was thriving, and Olivia was a wonderful addition to our lives. So, here's where things take a turn. A few weeks ago, I was out with Olivia, just grabbing dinner, when I got a frantic call from Mia. She was home alone, and Megan, yes, the same Megan who abandoned us 15 years ago, had shown up at our door, completely out of the blue. And she wasn't alone. She had some guy with her, Daniel, 40M, who she introduced as her boyfriend.

Mia was in shock and didn't know what to do. When I got home, I was furious. Seeing Megan standing there, in my house, after all these years, made me extremely angry. She was crying, apologizing, saying she needed to explain herself. Mia was just standing there, wide-eyed, not knowing. who these people really were. I lost it. I said some terrible things to Megan, things I probably shouldn't have, but I couldn't help it. She had no right to just walk back into our lives like nothing happened. After a while, we all sat down, and Megan started telling her story.

She claimed that she had severe postpartum depression, and that's why she left. She said she spent the last 15 years finding herself and that Daniel had encouraged her to reconnect with us. According to her, she was finally ready to be a mother again and wanted to build a relationship with Mia. But that wasn't all. Megan had the audacity to suggest a shared custody arrangement. She actually believed she could just step back into Mia's life and play the role of the loving mother, as if the last 15 years hadn't happened. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I laughed in her face and told her she must be out of her mind. I made it clear that there was no way in hell I was going to share custody with someone who abandoned their child. I told her and Daniel to get out of my

house, and that if they didn't leave, I'd call the police. I promised them that I'd be talking to my lawyer about my options, and that if she tried anything, I'd make sure she regretted it. They left after that, but I could tell this wasn't the last I'd see of them. Now here I am, trying to figure out what to do next. Mia is curious about her mother, and I get it. She's 15, and she's never really known her. But I'm worried. I don't trust Megan, and I'm afraid she's going to try and worm her way back into Mia's life. I don't know what her legal rights are, given that she abandoned us, but I'm not taking any chances. I'm doing my best to protect Mia while also respecting her curiosity. I've made it clear to her that it's okay to have questions, but that we need to be careful.

Megan has shown she can't be trusted, and I'm not willing to let her hurt Mia the way she hurt me all those years ago. I guess what I'm asking is, am I the asshole for refusing to let Megan back into Mia's life? Am I wrong for wanting to protect my daughter from someone who walked out on her without a second thought? Update 1. Since Megan showed up at our door, things have gotten increasingly chaotic. Before I came home with Olivia that night, Megan had managed to get Mia's phone number, and now she won't stop calling in texting her. She's been bombarding Mia with messages, saying how sorry she is, how much she loves her, and how she wants to make up for lost time. On top of that, Megan's been sending gifts, expensive ones too. Jewelry, designer clothes, and even a brand-new smartphone.

Mia's overwhelmed, and to be honest, so am I. I've told Mia that she doesn't have to respond to anything if she doesn't want to, but I can see the confusion in her eyes. She doesn't know what to think or how to feel. But Megan didn't stop there. A few days ago, she showed up at Mia's school. She made a scene in front of the other students and teachers, practically begging Mia to talk to her. The school had to call me to come and deal with it. I had to drag Megan away, and she kept shouting that she'd do whatever.

it took to be part of Mia's life again. That night, Megan sent me a series of texts, saying that if I didn't let her see Mia, she'd take legal action to get visitation rights. The whole situation is getting out of control, and I'm starting to worry about what Megan might do next. Given how things are escalating, I decided it was time to consult with a lawyer. I needed to know what Megan's rights were, if any, and what I could do to protect Mia. The lawyer told me that Megan's rights were minimal, especially since she abandoned us without a trace for 15 years. The fact that she left Mia as an infant and didn't attempt to make contact until now works heavily in my favor. He advised me to document everything, every call, every text, every gift, because this could be crucial if things go to court.

The lawyer also suggested that I consider getting a restraining order, especially after the incident at Mia's school. He said that Megan's behavior could easily be seen as harassment and that a restraining order would send a clear message that her actions aren't acceptable. I haven't made a decision about that yet, but it's something I'm seriously considering. As if things weren't bad enough, Megan has been pulling out all the stops to manipulate the situation. She's been telling Mia that I'm turning her against her, that I've been lying about why she left, and even that I was abusive during our relationship. She's claiming that I cheated on her, which is completely untrue. It's like she's trying to rewrite history to make herself the victim, and it's infuriating. Mia hasn't said much to me about it, but I can tell it's weighing on her.

Megan's also been reaching out to my family, trying to gain their sympathy. But they're having none of it. My parents and sister are furious with her, and they've made it clear that they don't support her. My mom even called Megan a selfish, heartless woman to her face, which, honestly, was satisfying to hear. But it hasn't stopped Megan from trying to turn people against me. She's desperate, and it's starting to show. Daniel, her boyfriend, has also gotten involved, and things have taken a darker turn. He confronted me at my workplace last week.

He was calm at first, but then he started making veiled threats, saying that if I didn't let Megan see Mia, there would be consequences. I don't know what he meant by that, but it was enough to make me uneasy. I've started documenting everything, just in case. Something tells me this is only going to get worse. I'm starting to suspect that Megan and Daniel have ulterior motives. The way they've been acting, it's like they're after something more than just reconnecting with Mia. I've heard stories about people trying to regain custody just to get financial support, and it's making me paranoid. I'm worried that Megan might try to sue for back child support or even alimony, despite the fact that we were never married. I'm planning to document every interaction with Megan and Daniel from now on.

I'm also going to have a serious talk with Mia about everything that's happening. She's old enough to understand the situation, and I need her to know that she can come to me with anything, no matter what. My top priority is keeping her safe, both emotionally and physically, and I'll do whatever it takes to protect her. I'm bracing myself for whatever comes next, but I can't shake the feeling that this is just the beginning of something much bigger. I'll update you all again soon if anything new happens. Thanks for all the support so far, it means a lot. Update 2, after everything that's happened, I decided it was time to sit me a down and tell her the full story of what happened with Megan. Up until now, I've been holding back, trying to protect her from

the uglier details, but I realize that she deserves to know the truth. She's been caught in the middle of this mess, and it's only fair that she understands what really happened. So, I told her everything. I explained how Megan and I were happy at first, how things changed after she was born, and how Megan became increasingly distant and eventually left us without a word. I also told her about the things Megan has been saying recently, about me supposedly being abusive and cheating, and I made it clear that none of it was true. It was a difficult conversation, but Mia handled it better than I expected. She was upset, of course, but I could see a kind of relief in her eyes, like she was finally getting some answers to questions she didn't even know after we talked.

Mia told me that she needs some space from Megan. She said she doesn't want to see or talk to her for a while, which I completely understand. I told her that whatever she decides, I'll support her. The next time Megan tried to reach out, Mia ignored her. When Megan realized that Mia wasn't responding, she showed up at our house again, demanding to see her. I had to physically block her from coming inside, and she started screaming and crying, saying that I was ruining everything.

It got so bad that Daniel had to drag her away, kicking and screaming. I think that was the moment when I truly realized how unstable she is. Shortly after that incident, I received a notice that Megan was filing for custody and visitation rights. I wasn't surprised, but it still hit me hard. The idea of going through a legal battle over Mia was something I'd hoped to avoid, but it was clear that Megan wasn't going to back down. My lawyer and I prepared a counter-filing, citing abandonment, emotional harm, and her recent harassment. We included all the documentation I'd been gathering, the texts, the calls, the school incident, and the scene at my house.

My lawyer was confident that we had a strong case, but I knew it wasn't going to be easy. The court hearing started, and it was as stressful as you'd imagine. Megan and her lawyer painted a picture of a woman who had made mistakes but was now ready to be a mother. They tried to downplay the abandonment, framing it as a result of her supposed postpartum depression. But we had plenty of evidence to show that her actions went far beyond just a mental health issue. We argued that she had made no attempt to contact us for 15 years and that her sudden reappearance was suspicious, especially given the timing and her boyfriend's involvement. As the legal battle went on, some shocking details came to light.

During the proceedings, it was revealed that Megan has a history of bipolar disorder, something she never disclosed to me when we were together. Apparently, she'd been diagnosed years before we even met but had kept it hidden. Her lawyer tried to use this as an excuse for her behavior, but it didn't do her any favors. It only reinforced the idea that she was unstable and unfit to have any custody over Mia. But that wasn't all. We also uncovered evidence that Megan and Daniel were in serious financial trouble. They were deep in debt, and it was becoming clear that they had ulterior motives for wanting to

reconnect with Mia. My lawyer managed to dig up Daniel's criminal record, which included past charges of fraud. He'd been involved in several schemes to con people out of money, and it looked like he might have been trying to use Megan's situation as a way to get some sort of financial gain from me. This new information changed everything. It was clear that Megan and Daniel had been trying to manipulate the situation for their own benefit, and the judge wasn't impressed. The court ruled them my favor, dismissing Megan's case for custody and severely limiting her visitation rights. She was only allowed supervised visits with Mia, and those were to be determined by a court-appointed guardian. It was a huge relief, but the whole process left me and Mia emotionally drained.

Update 3, just when I thought things were starting to settle down, I got a call from an unexpected source. Megan's younger sister, Amy. Amy and I had been close when Megan and I were together, but after Megan left, we lost touch. I hadn't heard from her in years, so I was surprised when she reached out. She told me that she had something important to discuss and asked if we could meet up. Given everything that had been going on, I was curious, so I agreed. When we met, Amy revealed that she'd been aware of Megan's disappearance but had only recently discovered the full truth about what happened. Apparently, about five years ago, she learned that Megan had been lying about her life during the time she was gone. Amy didn't know all the details back then,

but she didn't want to interfere in my life, fearing it would only cause more pain. However, after hearing about the custody battle and how Megan had been manipulating the situation, she couldn't stay silent any longer. Amy offered to testify against Megan in court, revealing the lies and deception that Megan had been hiding for years. She wanted to set the record straight and help protect Mia from getting caught up in any more of Megan's schemes. I was hesitant at first, but after hearing what she had to say, I realized that Amy might be the key to finally putting an end to all of this. Amy's testimony in court was eye-opening, to say the least. She revealed that Megan hadn't left because of postpartum depression

or because she needed to find herself. The truth was far more damaging. Shortly after Mia was born, Megan had an affair with a guy who was a regular at the coffee shop where she worked. He was older, had money, and he promised her a life of luxury if she left everything behind and ran away with him. And that's exactly what she did. Megan and this guy disappeared together, living off his savings in different parts of the country. They lived a carefree life until his money started to run out. When their funds dried up, Megan dumped him and returned home. That's when she met Daniel, who was no stranger to financial schemes and saw an opportunity in Megan's situation. Together, they concocted a plan to reconnect with Mia and me, hoping to gain some sort of financial

benefit, whether through child support, alimony, or simply by manipulating us into helping them out. For years, I'd been carrying the guilt of not being able to keep my family together, and now I was learning that Megan had never intended to be a mother in the first place. She had just been looking out for herself, and Mia and I were nothing more than collateral damage in her selfish pursuit of a better life. The final nail in the coffin came when we dug deeper into Daniel's past. It turned out that he had discovered my recent success through mutual acquaintances. He knew I was doing well financially, and he saw Megan's connection to Mia as a potential gold mine. The plan was simple, get Megan to reconnect with Mia, establish some sort of custody or visitation rights, and then sue me for back

child support and whatever else they could get their hands on. Daniel's involvement was purely about money, and Megan went along with it because she was desperate. She saw it as a way to regain some of the life she'd lost when she ran out of money with her last boyfriend. But the plan backfired spectacularly. With Amy's testimony and the evidence we'd gathered, their house of cards came crashing down. As the truth came out, Megan's world fell apart. Her family, friends, and even the few allies she had left turned against her. They couldn't believe the extent of her deception, and she quickly found herself isolated. Daniel, who had been so supportive when he thought there was money to be made, abandoned her as soon as the plan failed. He cleaned out whatever

money they had left and disappeared, leaving Megan with nothing. In the end, Megan had had, a complete mental breakdown. She was hospitalized briefly, and when she was released, she was a shell of her former self. The court dismissed her case for custody, and I was granted full custody of Mia, with no obligations to Megan whatsoever. Mia has been handling all of this remarkably well, considering the circumstances. She's angry at Megan for the lies and the manipulation, but there's also a part of her that pities her mother. After everything that's happened, decided that she wants to maintain minimal, supervised contact with Megan, just to see how things go. I've agreed to it, as long as it's on her terms and in a safe environment.

Final update. Throughout all of this chaos, Olivia has been my rock. She stood by me, supporting me through every twist and turn, and I don't know how I would have gotten through this without her. After everything settled down, I started thinking more about our future together. Olivia's been a part of me as life for years now, and she's been nothing but loving and supportive. I realized that I was ready to fully commit to her, to start a new chapter in our lives. A few weeks ago, I took the plunge and proposed to Olivia. It wasn't some grand, elaborate proposal, just a quiet, intimate moment between the two of us.

But it was perfect. She said yes, and now we're planning our wedding. After everything that's happened, it feels good to focus on something positive, something that represents a fresh start for all of us. As for Megan, she's been maintaining sobriety and is seeking treatment for her bipolar disorder. I've heard through the grapevine that she's been trying to turn her life around, but it's hard to say how genuine her efforts are. She's been allowed monthly supervised visits with Mia, but those are strictly monitored and on Mia's terms. It's been a difficult adjustment, but I think that you're not. it's been a good step for Mia in terms of closure. Megan has a long road ahead of her if she ever

wants to rebuild any sort of trust with Mia. For now, their contact is limited, and that's the way it's going to stay until Mia decides otherwise. I've made it clear that I won't allow Megan to hurt her again, and I'm keeping a close eye on everything to ensure that doesn't happen. Thank you to everyone who's offered advice and support along the way. Your words have meant more to me than you could ever know. We're moving forward now, ready to heal and build a future that's free from the shadows of the past. I hope you enjoy this story. Assisted my mother for a long time following my siblings' departure, but when her beloved daughter came back with a abducted youngster, Mom evicted me and sought aid.

Police showed up. Five years back, my older sister Jackie ran away with her deadbeat college dropout boyfriend, Scott. She was 20 at the time and he was 21. and they'd been together for five years by then. The two of them had been inseparable since school, and my family had never approved of him because he had always been up to no good. He was not particularly good at academics

and was constantly getting in trouble at school, and in high school, he started smoking and drinking and doing everything that one should not do. My parents always wanted her to break up with him, but she was determined to be with him, and there was not much that we could do because even when we would fight about him,

she would still go see him afterward and it didn't matter to her that he was not the right kind of person for her. And then, we lost my father five years back to a massive cardiac arrest. I had just turned 19 at the time and I still remember feeling like my world had been turned upside down. Even then, Jackie refused to cut down on her time with Scott and even invited him to the funeral, knowing that we did not have a good relationship with him. At the funeral, he was high as a kite and that was where we drew the line. My mother and I told her that we would not entertain this anymore and she had to choose between us. So she ran away with him, just because we had said that we were not going to support her and fund her lifestyle if she continued to be with him.

It was very difficult for us to come to terms with it, but she was an adult and we could not stop her. So for the past five years, we have had no contact with her since she was the one who cut us off. After my father passed, I decided not to go to college because I wanted to work and financially support my family. My mother had been a stay-at-home mom all along, and she could work, but I did not want her to. She had even offered to take up a job as a secretary and then send me to college, but we had had a comfortable life so far and I did not want to compromise that. Besides, my dad had also been working since he was 18 as well and had never even gone to college. So if he could do it, so could I, and I had faith in myself.

So I started small and got a low-income job as an intern, but then I worked my way up, and now, I'm pretty comfortable. I work in sales and I would like to believe that I have been able to maintain the standard of living that my father had left for me. Of course, it also helped that he had left us a certain sum of money when he passed away, so we were able to survive on that as well when I was not earning much. My mother was also very helpful in the beginning, she did everything in her power to make sure that I did not need to do any of the household chores when I came home from work and was just overall very resourceful. We have tried our best to do well for ourselves in the past five years, and even though we did miss Jackie, there was not much we could do about that.

Even though I have been the breadwinner of the household for the past five years and have been financially supporting my mother, I always knew that she really missed Jackie, since Jackie had always been her. favorite from the beginning. She never treated me badly, but it was obvious that she had a soft corner for her elder daughter. And when she had run away, there was a huge void in my mother's heart, and I was aware of it. She never talked about her, she stopped pretending like she had another daughter, and it was just the two of us. I had gotten used to that, but then, about 10 days ago, Jackie and a young boy who could not have been older than three or four years old, showed up at our doorstep after five years. Both my mother and I had been at home at the time and they showed up and when I saw the two of them through the eye hole, I was shocked.

However, my mother did not even wait to discuss it with me and just opened the door as soon as I told her who it was. She did not wait to consult whether or not I wanted them inside the house or not, but I could forgive that, since I could sense that she was really worried and excited at the same time, and at the end of the day, she was still a mother. She immediately hugged and welcomed her and along with the little boy who she claimed was her son. The two of them looked worse for the wear and Jackie had literally shrunk to half her size. It was very obvious that they had been suffering for a really long time because their clothes were really dirty and old. They had also been patched up in weird places and I could see it.

that their hair was also greasy and it looked like they hadn't been able to shower for days. But the most concerning of all was her body, which looked really upsetting since she had lost a lot of weight and was looking really bony. Jackie has always been plump, and seeing her like this was shocking. There were bags under her eyes and gosh, it was just really pathetic to look at them. I remember feeling very uneasy when I saw her for the first time after five years and I can't even described to you guys how awful it felt. I could tell that she had obviously not been in the best living conditions for the past few years and it really showed. So even though I've been skeptical about letting them in, I could not blame my mother for bringing them inside. As soon as they

were inside, my mom forgot all about everything that happened in the past and immediately started talking to them and converting them because she knew that they had been through a lot. Jackie then started telling us that after she and Scott had run away together, it had been difficult for them because he was a college dropout and she had also dropped out at that point and there was nobody to offer them jobs. It was still easier for me since I used my family's connections to get my first internship, but she did not have anybody helping her out. After some weeks of struggle and literally living hand to mouth, they were able to find really low-income jobs for themselves and that's how they had been living for the past few years. They had switched jobs a couple of times but had not been able to move up like I had and so, things were really bad for the two of them for quite some time. Jackie and Scott had been fighting a lot in the recent past, and especially after their son

had been born, things had gone from bad to worse, and he had ended up cheating and kicking her out of the house a couple of weeks ago. With nowhere else to go, she had come to the only place that she knew she would be accepted, which was back home. She wanted to ask us to forgive her for everything that that was to go. they had put us through and take us back into our lives. I wanted to discuss it with my mother before we committed to anything, but before I could even say that I needed a moment to discuss this, she told them that they did not need to worry about anything anymore because now. They were

back and she was going to take care of them. I found that a little shocking because I was the one who was earning, so it was technically something that I would definitely have to be a part of, and I felt like this was something that we needed to discuss. But she had already said that and Jackie seemed so happy that I did not feel like raining on their parade. It was not until later that they had gone to freshen up that I pulled my mother aside and I asked her if she was serious about this because for five years. We had not been in touch with them and we didn't even know exactly how they had managed to get themselves in such a bad state. Because from what they had told us, they had had jobs in the past so they should have been able to save some money at the

very least and be able to live decently. However, from the looks of it, it's a lot of it's seemed like they had been spending their money on something else altogether, and I had a sneaking suspicion that she might have been into drugs or something because there was no way that they had had jobs in the past and were still looking like that. If they were into shady and illegal things, I did not want to accept them back into our life so quickly and thought that we needed some time to think about this, but my mother was not on board with that. She told me that after five years, my sister had finally come back home, and now, it was her family's duty and responsibility to make sure that she was well taken care of.

My mother made it very clear to me that she was not interested in whatever she had been up to in the past, and now that she was back, it was a clear sign that she wanted to get her life back on track. If she had not wanted that, she wouldn't even have come back in the first place so now, we could not turn our backs on her when she was asking for our help and be mistrustful and weird. She had a point, so I decided to give it a chance, even though I did not fully trust the two of them. I got to live together with them for just two days and I was kind of worried about how things would turn out in the future, but just two days after they had returned, my mother sat me down when she was out looking for jobs and her son was napping. And then, she told me that she wanted me to find a place of my own, now that my sister was back. I was dumbstruck because I definitely could not understand her reasoning, but she told her.

told me that our house only had two rooms and while I had a room for myself, she had been sleeping on the couch for the past two days while Jackie and her son had taken up the other room since the child didn't feel comfortable enough on the couch. It was causing a lot of problems for her back, so she wanted me to move out and have my own life and an apartment of my own. I suggested that maybe Jackie could stay in the living room if it was becoming a problem for her, but she told me that she did not want that because she wanted them to feel accepted in the family and she couldn't force them out of that room and make them stay in the living room, with no privacy or comfort. After she had already offered to let them have it,

I found that very offensive because she was basically kicking me out after I had supported her for five years and had been the only person who was there for her, but now, just because her daughter was back. She had completely forgotten about me and only cared about their comfort and their privacy or whatever. Jealousy wouldn't be the word that I would use for myself at that moment, but I was definitely very pissed off and kind of humiliated. I guess I just felt betrayed by the way that she was acting and instead of trying to understand where I was coming from, she decided to accuse me of being jealous of Jackie

and said that she knew that I had always had a problem with her, but the way that I was behaving was not acceptable. She was acting like I was someone who was jealous and insecure of Jackie coming back and even said that I had had her all to myself for so many years, and that should be enough for me so there's no need for me to act like this now. She said she just wanted me to make one little sacrifice for the well-being of Jackie and her son since they had been through a lot, and it had been unimaginable, so I needed to cut them some slack. It turned into a really bad fight, and I decided to pack up my things and leave that very day. It has been a few days since then, and I have been living with a friend since I can't find any apartments on such short notice, but I feel like I have to go back to living with my mother anyway because of what happened four days ago.

After I left, I decided not to speak to my mother because she had really pissed me off, and I was feeling very upset. So I muted her and also blocked Jackie. I did not want anybody to be able to have any access to me and so, I did not know what was going on after I had left. Then I received a call for my mother four days ago and she was in tears, so I obviously got very concerned about her going on. And she told me that the police had shown up at our house and had placed Jackie under arrest and she was. was in their custody. And from the looks of it, even she was under investigation. I was shocked to find out about that because I knew that there was something shady going on, but I had not expected her to get arrested so soon. And when my mother told me the real reason why she had

been placed under arrest, I was even more shocked because apparently, the kid that she had brought along with herself, was not even hers. He was not her son, but he was definitely Scott's son and she had basically just kidnapped him and made a run for it to get back at him or whatever. It was completely unhinged and when I found out about this whole story for my mother, I knew that this was serious and she was obviously calling to enlist my help. My mother told me that apparently the kid that she had brought along was the child that Scott had brought home when he had decided to kick her out. That was his son, with his affair partner, and Jackie had been really upset about it so

when she got kicked out, she decided to kidnap him. And the poor kid was just three years old. He hadn't exactly been taught anything about such situations, so he just came along with Jackie since she'd apparently convinced him that she was taking him to Disneyland and then started threatening him to keep his mouth shut around us or she'd make sure he never got home. The cops have been looking for her for a really long time, but she had been practically untraceable because she did not have a phone or anything of the sort. Eventually, they were able to find her out and I'm thankful for that.

It was crazy and I told my mother that she should have really discussed things with me before allowing Jackie and that kid to move in with us because now, she was going to be investigated as well and even though the cops were not going to suspect anything since we had not been in touch for so long. It was still going to ruin her reputation if people find out about it. On the phone call, she told me that she wanted me to help her find a lawyer and prove that she was not involved in any of this, and I told her that I would do that. But it would mean that she would have to stop speaking to Jackie because she had put our family in a really difficult spot and I didn't appreciate that. But my mother thought that it was an unreasonable demand because no matter what she had done, Jackie was still our family, and she expected me to help her as well in things that we should testify against Scott when the trial begins and try to save my sister. That's where we disagreed and we had a really bad argument on the phone because I was not on board with that. I think that Jackie deserves to be punished for what she did. Being cheated on feels bad, I know that.

And I know that it probably makes people feel like crap, but that's not an excuse to literally kidnap a child and then put your family in danger as well. That is unhinged behavior and I don't feel like helping her out and becoming the bad guy in the process. So I made things very clear to my mother, but she said that I was just letting my jealousy and insecurity show yet again and said that she wished she had raised somebody with more compassion than me. My mother started acting like I was the villain here and now, I'm seriously considering if I actually am or not. Because I feel bad and don't know what to do. Ida for refusing to help my estranged sister stay out of jail. Update 1,

so three days have passed since I posted my update here. I would just like to thank everybody who took out the time to respond to my original post, that's really kind of you guys. Anyway, after reading the comments and thinking about stuff on my own, I decided that I was going to do my duty to my mother and put her in contact with a good lawyer that I knew because I did not want her to suffer. But, at the same time, if she chooses to help Jackie out and represent her as well, I'm going to ask her to back off. My only duty is to my mother, not to Jackie. She abandoned our family long ago, and I no longer feel the need to justify or stand by her.

If my mother does, that's her own business, I don't want to interfere with that, but then again, I don't feel the same way and I have been very clear on that front. I cannot believe that my mother tried to gaslight me and make me believe that I was the bad guy for not wanting to help out my sister who is literally a kidnapper. That was really unfair of her, but anyway, I can't help the situation now. I'm still living with a friend and trying to look for an apartment, just so that I can be distracted from all of this. I know that Mom will not go to jail, she has had nothing to do with any of this, and everybody knows that we have not even been on speaking terms with Jackie for the past couple of years, but then, I'm always worried for her. Even though we are not on speaking terms right now, I'm still worried for her. Because it had just been the two of us for so long. After my father, she was the only person who was there for me so I do have a relationship with her and it's very important to me, but I don't know.

The only thing that I can take solace in right now is that the lawyer that I have contacted and put her in touch with is a solid woman, and she has had plenty of experience in keeping people out of prison, so I'm counting on her. She's also agreed to help me out and lower her charges for me, specifically, since I'm really good friends with her brother and we work together. Her brother has reassured me that everything is going to be fine and I'm taking their word for it. Until then, however, I'm going to make sure that I don't speak to my mother since she hasn't shown any interest in speaking to me after I had that phone call with her the other day. Even after the lawyer contacted her and agreed to take her help and allow her to represent my mother, she still didn't even call me to thank me for what I did for her. So I don't know how to feel about any of that, but I am just hoping that she comes around. Update 2, hello, so the trial against Jackie has begun and it's going to be really intense for my mother. I'm pretty sure it's not going to be easy for her to watch her favorite daughter being persecuted.

She has not tried to get in touch with me after that phone call that we had the other day, even though she is working with the lawyer that I put her in touch with to represent her. Like I said in my previous update as well, I have been expecting her to contact me to at least just thank me, but nothing of the sort has happened. Anyway, I did what I had to do as her daughter and now it's not my business anymore, since she has made it very clear to me that she doesn't want me to be a part of her life. Up until a couple of days ago, we were not on speaking terms, but at least she did not have me blocked anywhere.

However, I found out recently that she had blocked me on Facebook and it even blocked my number. Because I tried to call her to confront her about blocking me on social media and then, I realized that my phone number was blocked as well. I could have contacted her by calling her through my friend's phone number, but it just did not seem worth it, so I let it go. Besides, now that I know she does not want to speak to me or even let me know what's going on in her life, I have received the message loud and clear. I've told the lawyer not to contact me about any updates in the trial.

My only job was to put her in touch and I did that. Now I don't need to know what's going on and bother my own. with it. The search for the apartment has been going well, though, since I have been able to finalize one and the rent is a bit high, but now that I don't have to support my mother anymore, I guess I'll be able to afford it. Initially, I had been worried about what was going to happen to my mother, now that she does not have anyone to financially support her. But I figured that she must have thought about it since she had been so confident in kicking me out and cutting me out of her life. I'm just hoping that she doesn't come back to me in order

to get financial support for me because I'm not going to continue with that after the level of disrespect that she has shown me. I'm just glad that in a few days, I'll be able to get out of my friend's hair because I think I've bothered her for long enough, and even though she insists that I can live with her for as long as I need to. I just need some space of my own and think about what's going on in my life right now because a lot has happened over the past few weeks and I am yet to process it. So I might take a few days off from work as well and just try to sit with my feeling.

for a bit. I really need that. Update 3, hi, it's been two months since the trial against Jackie started and she's on her own right now. It was proven pretty quickly that my mother had nothing to do with this situation and she was not aware of the fact that the child that Jackie had brought along with herself was not actually her son. She and her lawyer were able to prove that she was not involved in any of this and after clearing the charges of the lawyer, she told her to convey her thankfulness to me. When I was told her to told about it, I was very upset because she surely could have reached out to me to tell me about this, but even after two months, she didn't want to talk to me.

I don't even understand what she is so mad about since it's been proven that Jackie is the bad guy here and I was right for not wanting to help her. I really want to confront her about it, but I don't know if it's worth it or not and I've been struggling with this dilemma for the past few days because ever since the lawyer reached out to me and said that this is what my mother had to say, I've been having mixed feelings about what to do. My life is going smoothly right now. I have a decent job and I'm about to get promoted at work. I have my own apartment and I've been living by myself for the past couple of months, which has been nice, lonely, sure, but really nice. I have even started seeing somebody for the past few weeks,

so everything is going on track, but I feel like I really miss my mom and I know that most people in the comment section have said that she is really toxic and I need to keep her out of my life. But she is still my mother and I guess you guys are forgetting that after my father passed away, she was the only person that I had. We had other family members as well, but then the only person who could actually feel and share my grief was her and I really do miss her, even though what happened recently was not right. In spite of knowing that, I still miss her and the least I can at least do is get some sense of closure and have one last conversation with her, which is not on the phone. So I've really been considering reaching out to her and meeting her just once. Update 4, hi, so some of you really encouraged me to talk to my mother if I really missed her that much and at least get some sense of closure after I made my post last week. And after thinking for a couple more days, I finally decided to reach out to her.

I noticed that she had unblocked my number when I tried to call her, and she even answered the phone very quickly. I spoke to her on the phone and I arranged a meeting with her and the very next day, I went over to my home to meet her. She welcomed me with a hug and started crying as soon as she saw me, and said that she was really sorry about the way that she had treated me, but she had seen Jackie after so long that things just stopped making sense in her head and she had started acting like a total fool. I didn't even have to say anything in my defense. She agreed that every single thing that I had said had been right, and she was the one who was the one who was. had been wrong. She literally begged me for forgiveness and said that she did not have anybody apart from me and she had realized that her soft spot for Jackie had caused her to turn a blind eye to how

psychotic she had been. But during the trial, she had realized that Jackie had not just been harmful to herself, but her actions had hurt the family and I was right in not wanting to help her or have any contact with her. Just because she's related to me by blood does not mean that she respects that bond and we don't need to respect it either at the cost of our sanity. She told me that she had conceived Jackie after a lot of struggles and that's why she always thought of her as special, but she now knows that she was wrong and she should not have treated me that way. I was not surprised about the fact that she confessed to having a soft spot. Everyone had known that all along, but when she told me that she was going to try and work

on this and wanted our relationship to get better, I was really happy. And I know that she's not doing it for the money because for the past two months, since I had left, her brother was the one who had been supporting her, and she had even tried to get a job working from home in her brother's company, which is what she's doing now. So I know that this is all genuine and she really wants to make things better between us. However, we have decided to stick to living separately for a while because living alone has given me a new sense of perspective and I can't always be living in my childhood home with my mom, I need to get out there and live my own life as well. So we have decided to keep in touch and just wing it for the next few months and see how it goes.

But yes, I'm going to try and fix my relationship with my mother, and I hope that things work out for us. I hope you enjoy this story. Mother arrived at my infant celebration with my distant sibling, and insisted that I expressed regret to her for embarrassing her at my nuptials when she attempted to initiate something. On my husband. So recently, I, 30F, made a post on social media. about the person whom I had appointed as the godmother to my child, and that has made my mom and my sister very upset. I just want to know if I'm the bad guy here or if they are the ones overreacting. For context, my mom and my sister Monica 26F have always been one unit and I've never gotten

along well with them. But we still put in the effort to appear to be a happy family, at least until my wedding, four years back. Obviously, my mom and my sister had been invited, but for some reason reason, Monica decided to try and make a move on my husband during the reception, right in front of me. We were speaking to our cousins, and she was standing along with them, openly trying to flirt with my husband. And even though he was not even responding, she just didn't stop. For the record, before my husband and I got together, he had actually met Monica on a dating app. But they had only been out on a couple of dates before it fizzled out, so it wasn't serious. And it was almost a year after that, that he and I finally met. For some reason, she kept bringing that up, as if it was a huge deal, even though

before the wedding, she had never made a thing out of it. And I am guessing it was for attention or just to annoy me. I could tell that my husband was getting uncomfortable and so was everybody else, so I decided to address it and totally humiliated her by calling her out on it. I told her that she needed to stop hitting on my husband, it made her look desperate and pathetic, and I was a bit loud about it. So people around us also heard me, not just our cousins. Obviously, she was very embarrassed after that and why she did not create any drama that day, but later that week, she reached out to me and told me that she was still waiting for an apology for what I had done. I thought she had some guts to ask me to apologize to her after she

had been trying to make a move on my husband at my wedding. We got into a huge fight, we ended up cussing at each other on the phone that day and since then, we had to have to be. We had to be haven't spoken. Neither of us is any worse off for it either, but my mom has been trying to get us to talk to each other for the past four years. She has always insisted that I should be the one to make amends first since I'm older and more mature, and even though Monica had made a dumb little mistake, she knows that she feels bad about it. All I have ever had to say about this is that if she genuinely feels bad, she can reach out to me and apologize and then I'll think about whether I really want to forgive her or not, but there is no way I'm reaching out to her first.

Personally, I think it's fair enough. Anyway, so far, my mother had been trying to fix things, but a couple of weeks ago, she decided to show up at my baby shower and through a tantrum because I hadn't invited my sister and neither had I asked her to plan the event for me. I don't know why she would even expect me to do that because my sister is not very good at her job. She runs an event management business that's funded by my mom since my mom is a pretty successful businesswoman herself, and she can afford to throw good money after bad. That's her personal choice, but I don't want to do that and it's not like I had never given Monica a chance. I had asked her to plan my bridal shower earlier, but it had been such a boring and bland-looking event that I decided never to ask her again. And on top of that, we are not even on speaking terms, so why would I even consider her for the job? It didn't make sense.

But for months, my mother had been bugging me to let my sister organize my baby shower since that would give us an opportunity to bond again. Just to get her off my back, I had told her that I would think about it. But then, when she found out that I was planning the whole thing myself and I was not going to give Monica a chance, she lost it at me and told me that I was being too hard on her by snubbing her and refusing to even support her business. I was very blunt with my mom and I told her that I didn't think that she was very good at her job and my mom told me that she would not attend the event if I didn't let Monica plan it, so that's what happened. I just wished that she had actually stuck to her words and not attended the event. But then, both of them showed up at my door on the day of. My mom started demanding that I apologized to Monica for how I had humiliated her at wedding

because even though four years had passed, she hadn't been able to live down that embarrassment and that she deserved an apology. At first, obviously, I refused to apologize, but then, they said that they would not leave and would embarrass me the same way if I didn't apologize. So I just had to suck it up and do it because that day, I had a lot of co-workers over two and I didn't want to be embarrassed in front of them. I gritted my teeth and just got it over with and after I apologized to Monica, the smug want to slap her, but thankfully, they left right afterward. It was just an ego play to make me feel bad about myself and even though it's been close to two months since then, I still haven't forgotten. And that's what the post on social media about my daughter's godmother was all about.

Obviously, for the past two months, I haven't been in touch with my mother either, and she wasn't present for the childbirth, nor did she congratulate me after that. She's obviously not my child's grandmother, not in any sense of the word. But the one person who has been there for us all along was my stepmom. So, my parents got divorced when I was around seven years old and when I was 12, my dad remarried and I met Nicole. She's been more of a friend than a maternal figure for me and ever since my dad, dad passed away three years ago, she and I have become pretty close because I always got along

better with my dad and I think we really understand each other. Even earlier, she and I used to get along well but we're not as close as we are now. Our relationship always got on my mom's nerves because she hated Nicole and by extension, of course Monica hated Nicole too. It never even made any sense to me because it's not like she had ruined my parents' marriage. My dad didn't even know her when my parents got divorced. It's just that by the time my dad had started dating Nicole, my mom had realized that she didn't want to let go of my father and had started trying to get him back, but by then, it was too late and he was serious about Nicole. So it never ended up working out for them and my dad married Nicole and stayed with her until he passed away. And my mom and sister

have never forgiven her for that, even though it's not even her fault. So of course, when I made that post announcing Nicole to be my child's godmother and favorite grandmother, my mom and Monica lost it. I hadn't blocked either of them anywhere until recently because I think it's childish and immature but a couple of days back, I had to. A day after I made that post, my mom started bombarding my phone with calls and texts, telling me to take it down immediately. Because there was no way she was going to allow Nicole to be referred to as the grandmother or godmother and that my decision to post something like this was really petty and spiteful. She accused me of using my child as a weapon to make her feel bad and started calling me every derogatory name that she could

think of. Naturally, I had to block her eventually because I couldn't tolerate this. I don't even think that it's all out of spite. I really do appreciate Nicole and everything that she has done for us so far. She has been there for me more than my own mom and ever since the baby was born, she has been coming over every day to help us out. She has shown more of an interest in me and my life than my mom has. And I will admit that I made that post out of spite, but I definitely did not declare her to be my favorite grandmother or godmother out of spite. That was genuine, just the act of posting in public with a bit petty and spiteful, but I don't think there's anything wrong with it. I felt like getting back at Monica and my mom in some way for making me apologize to them at my baby shower because

even now, when I think about it, it just really makes me mad. I've blocked my mom, but Monica texted me later on, saying that what I'm doing is disgusting I'm going out of my way to make such posts. She said that it's not just disrespectful to our mother, it's also disrespectful to Nicole and proves that I don't really care for anyone apart from myself because I'm just a narcissist and all that matters to me is my revenge and spitefulness. All the negative stuff like that. And now, since this was coming from Monica of all people, I'm really stuck wondering if I did the right thing at all. I'd offer declaring my stepmom to be my child's favorite grandmother and godmother on social just to rub it in my mom's face. Edit, I didn't think that it was relevant to the story but as far as I have been told, my parents mutually decided to get a divorce.

They had been fighting a lot when they were together and it got to the point where it was affecting both my sister and me. So one day, they just sat us down and told us that both of them had decided that it would be better for them to live separately and after that. They had shared custody of us so we spent our time with them equally. But even then, my sister preferred my mom and I preferred my dad. It was around two years after the divorce that my mom started telling us that she was planning on getting back together with our father and they had even tried couples counseling for a while. But by then, my dad had moved on emotionally and eventually, they ended their relationship once more. My mom never stopped talking about him, though, and about a year after that, my dad met Nicole through his friends, and the rest is history.

I guess that's why my mom can't stand her because she thought that she had actually had a chance and she thinks Nicole is the one who blew it for her, but I don't think that's the case. In 2001, I spoke to Nicole about everything, since it had really been weighing on me. I could deal with the fact that Monica and my mom did not approve of what I had done, they didn't like the post. Of course they didn't, they weren't supposed to either. But then, I realized that Monica did have a point. I was being sort of disrespectful to Nicole as well

because I was posting something related to her, just to rub it in my mom's face. And I didn't want to be that kind of person, I don't want to use her, for something like this. I made the post about five days back in last evening, when she had come over and we had put my daughter down for a nap, I decided to come clean to her. I told her about the post, the messages from my mom and my sister, and how I had been feeling

terrible about all of this. I actually even ended up crying, but that's probably because I'd been a lot more emotional than usual lately. Anyway, she comforted me, she told me that she didn't mind and she confided in me that she actually felt really happy that I had chosen her to be the godmother and also referred to her as the favorite grandma on social media. Just to rub it in my mom's face. She told me that she had never spoken about it because she did not want to be petty and neither did she want to be the kind of person to try and turn me against my own mother, but she hated my mom too.

Which, of course, she did, because my mom had been nothing but terrible to her and had done a great job at making life difficult for all of us by turning Monica into a mini her and teaching her to treat Nicole as disrespectfully as she possibly could. It used to be a huge trouble for all of us because back when my dad was still alive and we were kids, Monica and I used to spend half of the month with my father and she would be a total nightmare to deal with around Nicole. But Nicole never lost her patience with my sister because she knew that it was my mom who was pulling the strings behind the scenes. And getting mad at Monica, berating her or treating her badly just to get back at the kid, would only lead to more drama. It's not like she was fine with having Monica walk all over.

her all the time, but she herself never said anything about it. She let me and my dad deal with it because she knew that if she tried to do something my mom would lose her mind and start using that against my dad. Apparently, my father had confided in her that he was afraid that my mother was teaching Monica to be horrible to Nicole on purpose, so she would get baited into lashing out at the kid, and then, my mom would be able to use that to get full custody or something. And when I finally thought about it, it actually sounded like a pretty reasonable explanation. I also wouldn't put it past my mother, she's pretty clever, and I'm sure that could have been part of her plan but, thankfully, even though Monica was a nightmare to deal with, Nicole never let it get to her. She kept her cool, and it helped that my father and I were always trying to make it better for her.

However, she hated my mother just as much as my mom hated her, she just never spoke about it. Hearing her speak about it so openly and honestly made me feel a lot better and I realized that at the end of the day, we are all humans. My being petty or spiteful was completely natural, especially after how horribly my mom and my sister had treated me. For years, I have tried to pretend that everything is fine and that we are one happy family just so that our drama doesn't go public because, according to my mom, that would be the biggest nightmare for the family. Other people getting to know that all is not fine. But I don't really care about what other people think anymore and I'm pretty sure that if she really didn't want other people to think that she doesn't exactly get along well with her eldest daughter. Then she probably should have treated me better and made an effort to get along with me instead of forcing me to pretend like everything was fine for ages. But whatever, I'm done now.

Speaking to Nicole about this was pretty freeing for me and I feel a lot better now. I don't feel guilty about this stuff anymore because clearly, she couldn't care less about me making that post and since she dislikes my mom and Monica just as much as I do, I think she's fine with me using that post to rub it in their faces. Besides, as I had already mentioned in my original post, it was just the act of making that post that was for sure. But whatever I said, I really do mean it. So now, I'm not going to allow my mom or my sister to make me feel guilty about this anymore. I've also blocked both of them everywhere because like a lot of you guys brought up in the comments, it's not immature or childish to block people if they're getting on your last nerve and making life difficult for you. I've already spent way too many years, focusing on how they feel and trying to be a good daughter.

I can't do that anymore, right now, my only priority is being a good wife and even more important than that, being a good mother. Update 2, so since it has been two weeks since my mom and Monica started trying to contact me, and I blocked them, they decided to go with this and made a really long and emotionally manipulated Facebook post against me. It's quite ironic how for years, I was not pushed by my mom. mother to keep quiet and pretend like everything was fine in our family so that nobody else would ever find out that we didn't exactly have a great relationship with each other and we would be

able to keep up appearances. But now that her younger daughter has made this post, she has nothing to say and is pretending like this has greatly affected her in the comments section of her post. And that post was just disgustingly, misleading, full of half-truths designed to make me look like the bad guy. Monica literally started off by telling people that she was really sorry that she was having to this out on a public platform, but she wanted to express how disappointed she was in my behavior because, for the past many years, my mom has been so supportive of me, but I decided to make a post for my stepmom instead. She announced that she has had her differences with me since I'm jealous of her entrepreneurship and that's why I've never supported her because I've always felt like my mom

should have invested in me instead of her. She claimed that she had even been ready to overlook that, but then I stole her boyfriend from her out of jealousy and got married to him, and even then she didn't say anything. Another lie, but she can't stand the fact that I have insulted our mom now. Of course, she can't. Our mom is the only reason she even has a business right now because I'm pretty sure that anybody who has worked with her in the past will never work with her again since she has a tendency to ignore everything that her clients want and go her own way and then expect them to pay for it. At least that's what she did with me during my bridal shower. It's also very surprising that my mom is completely fine with this post on social media where

Monica is taking the family drama to the rest of the family for their judgment. She was all about not airing dirty laundry in public in the past, but I guess that rule was just for me and not for Monica, not surprised at all about that. Anyway, of course, I couldn't see that post for myself because I'd blocked them so a couple of members of my family had to send it to me before I could finally read it. And naturally, my blood boiled when I went through that post because you guys might have noticed, it was all full of BS. I don't even understand how my sister typed all of that out, went through it, and decided that it was completely good to go and she would easily get away with posting something like that. She should have known

that she wouldn't because at some point, I would definitely find that post and I would not hesitate in pointing out all the rubbish that she had said about me. After going through that post, I spoke to my husband, and obviously he was just as annoyed as I was. After a couple of minutes, I decided that I was not going to let this slide and I started typing out my own post. I pointed out all the life that she had told me, like how she had said that I was jealous of her because my mother had invested in her business and hadn't done anything to support in according to her. It was because she deserved it more, but in my opinion, it was just because she kept quitting jobs every now and then and my mom's decision to fund her business was just charity.

It wasn't because Monica had any real skills. In fact, it was quite the opposite. It was because she was never going to be good at anything that my mom decided to give her a and I was not jealous of her, I just didn't support her and ask her to organize events for me because she was terrible at what she did. I also mentioned how I hadn't stolen her boyfriend to get back at her, because my husband had never even been her boyfriend. They had just been out on a couple of dates before he met me and by the time we got together, they hadn't even been speaking to each other. So all the ridiculous accusations that she had against me were nothing but a bunch of

lies. Once I had addressed that in my post, I also talked about how my mother and Monica had shown up at my baby shower, the kind of drama that they had created, and forced me to apologize so that I wouldn't end up getting embarrassed in front of my coworkers. After that, my mom hadn't even bothered to be there for me when I went into labor, nor had she even reached out to me to congratulate me. She literally hadn't even met my daughter, but Nicole had done all of that and even more. So of course I was going to put a post appreciating her if I wanted to, they had no right to try and stop me. If they felt attacked by their post, they probably needed to introspect instead of trying to make themselves out to be the victims. I also called out my mom for

being just an overall terrible person, because not a lot of people knew how vindictive she had been after my dad got remarried. After getting the green light from Nicole, I talked about how my mother had manipulated Monica into misbehaving with Nicole, just to create trouble for my dad so that he wouldn't end up being happy with his new wife. That's how jealous and awful she had always been, so obviously not surprising that I don't want anything to do with that woman anymore. It was brutal, but I think it was necessary and I felt much better after making that post. Of course, after I made that post, my phone was flooded with calls and texts from people from the family. The rest of my family is not clueless.

they have had some clue over the years that there has been tension between me and my mom and my sister, and I. It's become increasingly evident over the past couple of years since we were very, very cold to each other at family events, in spite of my mother trying her best to make it look like there was nothing wrong with our relationship. The posts that we made just confirmed what everybody had already been guessing, that there was a lot of drama in our family that we had been trying to cover up for a really long time. After I made my post, people started telling me that they were glad that I had, had taken a stand for myself. They also said that they were glad that I had bothered to clarify because the post that my sister had made had seemed quite fishy, which is why nobody from the

family had supported her. The way she had said it made me sound really jealous and petty. It just didn't sit right with everyone else because that's not what their experience with me has been. So they had already had their reservations about believing whatever Monica had said in her post, and after my post, they were sure that they did not want to trust her. And because my Post had basically just exposed both my mother and Monica, my family told me that they were definitely going to be cutting ties with them. A lot of my cousins who were close to me had already stopped speaking to Monica after the incident at the wedding. And now, even more, people are going to start cutting them out of their lives. They still haven't taken the post down, though,

even though there have been a lot of people in the comments section who have taken a stand for me and have called them out for all the bluffing. But it doesn't matter, they can keep that post up, I know that people support me and now that they know the truth, I feel much better about everything. They kind of play themselves here because I'm sure that they had believed that I would not respond to them and would just let it slide like always but this totally backfired and now, they are the ones getting ostracized. My husband, I and obviously, Nicole, feel really vindicated that this is happening right now. After the way they have treated us so horribly for so many years, I'm now going to sit back and watch the drama unfold and see what else they're do to try and villainize me now. Update 3, hello? So it's been three weeks since my last

update, and a couple of days after I made my post, I guess Monica finally saw some sense and decided to take her post down. But just because she took her down, she and my mother reached my house and started demanding that I take mine down too because the things that I said about them were way worse than what they had said about me. I told them that at least whatever I had said, was the truth while they had just tried to make me look like the bad guy and push a false narrative so that the family would turn against me. I made it very clear to them that I was not taking that down and I asked them to get off my property after informing them of my decision. Monica tried to leave, but my mom refused, and she started screaming at me. I wasn't having

that, so I just slammed the door shut in her face and then she started pounding on the door like crazy. I was actually a bit scared because she was behaving unhinged and I was home alone with my baby at the time since my husband was at work. Nicole was also down sick, so I had no other option, but to call the cops and have them escorted off my property. I decided to file a report against them, too, just so that they take this as a warning. I know that what they did was not really that bad, so they're probably not going to get charges filed against them, or anything more than a formal warning, but even then, it's going to be something at least. And after I told my husband and Nicole about what I did, they told me that I had done the right thing, since they had always taken

my silence for my weakness, constantly just assuming that I would always let things slide. In the past, I actually had done that, but it was only out of respect for whatever my mother had said because at least we had some sort of a relationship, no matter how weak or fragile. But now, that bond has been severed, and I don't owe them anything, especially if they're going to disrupt the peace of my home. The way they were behaving, it had bothered my baby as well. and I'm not going to have that. Pressing charges against them was just my way of sending a message, and I hope that they will take this seriously because otherwise,

I'll have to file a restraining order against both of them so they never show up here again. It might sound extreme, but I'm determined to make sure that they have nothing to do with my family after this. Now that I'm a mother, there's nothing more important than providing my daughter with a peaceful and happy life and if they're not going to let that happen, I'm not going to let them get away with it either.

But anyway, that's for the future. Right now things are great apart from the little hiccup that took place last week. I hope you enjoy this story. Requested childhood images from my partner for a surprise assignment, only to stumble upon a concealed recording of her alongside our intimate acquaintance. This discovery led to her emotional distress, prompting her to reveal that she had erased the video several years ago. A go. I've been in a relationship with Cat, F-26, for a little over two years. Extremely satisfied with the relationship, she is just what I didn't knew I needed. Small arguments here and there but the kind that gets sorted with a talk or two hours after once we both cool down a bit.

She really liked a photo montage I did of our vacations, so I was thinking on doing one from since she was born until the first photo we will take when she moves in with me in February, when her lease will end. For that I needed old photos of her, so I asked her saying it was for a project. She gave me an external HD, said the folder marked memories would be filled with all her photos, but they would be out of order and that there would be photos with her XBF from a summer trip they did overseas that she kept for the memories of the trip itself. Yesterday I sat down to start checking the photos. There are a lot of them and they are all out of a specific order, so I was just picking it random. As I was scrolling down I saw a folder in the middle of the images. Weird name, it had a few brackets and random numbers with letters but showed it had content in it.

I opened it, two images and one video. The images were a screenshot of some shoes on a shopping app and a selfie with a thumb covering the half the lens. Then I get the video. Short, 53 seconds, first seven or eight seconds is someone fumbling with what I expect to be a phone. Then the camera moves down and it is cat back, naked. With the movements and sounds is obvious that this is her having sex with someone. To be clear, this is not proof of cheating. She has a back tattoo to which she has been adding through the years.

On the video it is less complete than when I met her and her hair is very short. Checking by other photos I would say she was either 18 or 19 years old at the time. Now, we both know that neither of us was a virgin when we met, still it is a little bit unsettling to me to get that knowledge imprinted on my brain with visual aids. OFC, she is not doing anything wrong but there are three things running wild on my mind. First, she was wearing what I can only describe as crotchless panties with a bunny tail, to the side, at one point I could see what it looked like a small whip, similar to what the jockeys use. She never showed any inclination for this kind of thing with me, but what is really bothering is that at one point I can see that her right wrist has an handcuff, the kind with fluffy pink hair around, with the other handcuff open at the side.

This is bothering me because she absolutely hates to be held in any way by her wrists. First time I did it during sex she literally tensed and froze on the spot to the point that I stopped what I was doing to check on her. She told me to never do it again. I actually told her to give me a safe word that night so that if I ever did something that she wasn't comfortable just say the word and I stop, fortunately never had to use it to this day. Now my mind is trying to make sense of it and I'm getting concerned that she doesn't trust me for some reason, at least not to the point she seems to have trusted this guy. Second, the existence of the video itself. She loves taking photos but nothing overly sexual, just some sexy outfits but even those aren't what I would call too much. skin. She is actually pretty flirty and sometimes inappropriate when texting or speaking over the phone but she told me once to forget any nudes or videos. She won't send them nor let me take them,

really don't mind, I rather see everything live. And now I see a video. Third, and what is bothering the most? I'm almost 100% sure the guy is a friend of hers Mark M-26. At the end of the video, when he goes to shut the recording he pointed the camera to his wrist. There is a tattoo there that is the same as Marks. I highly doubt she met two guys with the same tattoo in the same place. And they have been friends since first year of college so it matches the time frame. This is not someone that I'm going to say, oh, they are BFF, they are always together, spend time alone in their apartments.

They see each other maybe once a month when their group gathers for dinner or drinks, I actually go with her more often than not. I've been going crazy trying to replay their interactions, looking for any signs that I may have missed of something other than friendship but honestly, I'm coming up empty. He also has a GF and he looks at her the same way I look at mine. I don't expect Cat to tell me every hookup and relationship she had in the past, but with someone that she sees with some regularity I would expect and heads up of some sort,

especially because it seems more than just a casual thing. looking at the all setup. This is driving me mad. My actual brain knows she has done nothing wrong and that I'm probably overreacting but my body stress response right now is through the roof. I know that I'll need to speak to her tomorrow, before I let this pen up more. Already had a bad night's sleep. Tonight I don't expect it to be better and I'm concerned that having this conversation without a clear mind may actually cause issues that I really don't want to have. and honestly, I'm a bit scared to go deeper into this rabbit hole.

Jesus, what a rant this has become. Sorry for the wall of text, seems I had more to vent than I thought. How do I approach this conversation tomorrow? Edit. Now, maybe my English isn't as good as I hoped because I honestly do not understand the amount of people with the idea that I want to do BDSM with my GF and that I'm salty about she doing it with someone else. Never did, it is not something I can see enjoying so I would only do it to an extent if I was asked. My issue is, if she is interested in this, why hasn't she approached the subject in a two-year relationship?

And it doesn't help the matter that this doesn't seem to be an ex but one of her friends, which either is in fact an ex and she hide that from me when we talked about past relationships in the beginning of our own, or had a FWB situation or whatever else happened there. is the not having context to the video that is causing my mind spinning and that is why I need to speak with her before the damn burst and that is why I reached out for advice to at least not making this shit worse than it already is. And no, I didn't went through her phone to get pictures, I asked her for pictures, she gave an external HD and told me in which folder to get them. The HD had other folders, I didn't open them. The video was inside a strangely named folder inside the memories folder. I'm talking to her tonight, after she comes back from work.

She already knows something is not right, I couldn't sleep yesterday and she came back to see why I wasn't in bed that late. This morning she checked on me you are not yourself the last two days, is there something going on? I just told her that I'm feeling stressed without an apparent reason and not to worry. No point on a conversation before she leaves for work. Can't say that I'll update this today after we talk as I don't think I'll be. have the mind for that, but I guess I'll eventually say something. For now I'm going offline. Update, November 2, 2024. Some people had asked for an update, so I guess this will be it. I'd like to thank to all the people that gave actual advice on what I asked on my post instead

of judging me for whatever reason they found worthy of judgment. The advice of listening to her instead of turning the conversation into an interrogation that was pointed to me by several people prevented me to actually complicate our talk. The original post was long, this update might be a bit as well. She read this before I posted, so all I've written was with her consent. Got a call from old friend of mine to check up on me because my GF had called him worried about my behavior of the last two days. When I said thee it was something that I would need to talk to her, he said, that is fine, just remember that cat is not Mary, an ex of mine. Don't bring that baggage with you, if you have an issue talk it out but don't put on your GF someone else's it was like a light switch that flipped.

I had been so freaked out that didn't even realize that a lot of what I was feeling was past trauma that was being brought up front and boosting my reactions. Basically afraid of going through something similar, again. When she got home she was already wanting to speak with me, I told her that if she wanted to take a shower I would make some tea and we would talk. I told her that I loved her, I wasn't accusing her of anything. or mad at her. I was going through something and she was the only one I could speak that could help me move past it. That I needed her to be honest and not try to hide things from me. Once she

agreed, I just asked when you gave me the external HD for me to get those photos. Were you aware that there is a video in there of you and someone that I think is Mark having sex? That is not possible I deleted that years ago. That is what she said before breaking down in tears. She She hugged me, I hugged back by instinct mostly. In between the sobbing and crying she begged me to not get mad and let her explain. I repeated that I wasn't mad, would hear what she wanted to say, she just needed to be honest with me. Once she calmed down she told me that.

It happened around three weeks after her 19th birthday. She had broken up with her high school BF about two months prior. They were both pretty drunk hanging out at her apartment living room after a night of her out and things just escalated into physical. She said that in the next morning they both felt extremely self-conscious about the all thing. Mark was really freaked out that she might think he had taken advantage of her because she had a recent breakup, she was concerned that Mark had feelings for her because she only saw him as a friend. They ended up agreeing that it was a drunken hookup that none of them wanted to follow up on. At one point Mark asked her if she

remembered making a video, they checked both their phones and there was a video and photo on her phone that she deleted them. She never saw them again and believed them to be gone. According to her they even avoided each other for the next couple of months because of the awkwardness and nothing else happened. I had been watching her while she spoke, she kept eye contact while speaking, seemed tense but nothing unexpected. All in all I saw no reason not to believe her. The handcuffs and all. Joke birthday gift from her girlfriends, it just happened to be there when they went to the room and they thought it would be fun to open the set. We only talked about this yesterday, at the time I had other more pressing questions.

As for not telling me in the first place, when she started dating her ex, Mark was out of the country so she never mentioned that happening to her ex. When Mark came back, her ex was already showing signs of being jealous and controlling without much reason so she decided no to throw gasoline into the fire. Mark started dating a girl and mentioned that they had been together once a long time ago because she asked. His GF told her ex BF in the middle of a group outing. Her ex exploded, she ended up breaking up with him, things went a bit out of control to the verge of harassment slash stalking. Mark relationship imploded sometime later because the girls saw Cat breaking up with her ex as proof that she has feelings for you and became a bit crazy. She never told me

because, in the beginning, she wasn't sure how I would react and was afraid I went her ex-path, and by the time she figured I wouldn't go that path it had been so long that she just let it go. She apologized, admitted that was a bad call on her part and should have told me and let me decide how comfortable I was with it. When she spoke about her ex being abusive, I gently asked if he was the reason for her issue with being held by the wrists. He wasn't. He was verbally and psychologically abusive but was never physical.

It was someone else after she broke up with her ex, someone that belonged to her friend's group. Apparently he had a secret crush on her, was drunk at a party, they were alone on a small balcony and she friends owned him when he proposed. He got close, she placed her hands on his chest to try and stop him and he held her by the wrists and pinned her against a wall. One of her friends saw it through the window and helped. The guy was cut off by the friend's group and last time she knew he left to work somewhere. else. Still she was aware that if they were alone it might have been a lot worse and when I did it to her it was just a response to the memory. Also, this actually explained some behaviors of hers when we started dating. She looked like she needed time to make sure she was comfortable to be alone with me, now I know why.

After this I was drained, well I guess anyone that actually read this far will be as well. I went silent for a good while just replaying everything. She came to me, held my hands and apologized again, said she couldn't make what I saw disappear but it was really in the past and she just needed me to tell her what else she could do to make things easier for me. Honestly at that point my brain was shot. Then she did something that caught me completely off guard. She called Mark on the phone, placed him on loudspeaker while motioning me to be quiet and asked him if he could speak or was close to his GF. His reply was, to me telling, He said that is an odd thing to ask, I'm alone, is something wrong?

She told him that I had seen the video. Basically, the entirety of the conversation confirmed everything she told me, I didn't say anything so he didn't knew I was listening. After freaking out with I saw you delete that shit, he referred to it as a one-time meaningless thing and a drunk hookup that keeps coming back to haunt us. Was also worried that I would tell his GF like my crazy ex. So after all this she asked. asked me if I needed space, but I told her I wanted her near, if she didn't want to be with me in

bed I could sleep in my study, but she wanted to be close as well. We spent yesterday together, didn't go to the party as it was planned, talked, and just kept each other close. She and Mark will take a break on their friendship, he told his GF, which took it better than me, but they decided some distance is better at this point. My G.F. also offered to only go out with the group with me present regardless of Mark being there or not. Other than that I just asked her to give me some time and to not try initiate sex for now, I want to be completely clear-minded and release this stress that build up before that. This is it going to take some time but I feel that I have the ground under my feet so I'm

optimistic, I think that now, after talking it out I just need a bit of time to let it settle. Next story, do all the housework while working from home, but my wife brags to her friends that she does everything, while also throwing away the lunches I pack for her at work. Hello, everyone. My wife, 41F, and I, 42M, have been married for 15 years. I apparently surprised her by being capable of doing household chores and tasks, which I didn't think much of. My mom always asked me to help out with chores when I was a kid so I didn't think it was beneath me or anything. I do think I inherited her need to clean excessively, like it's so bad that I can't eat until a mess is dealt with. My mom is an amazing cook, my aunt was a literal

chef at a fancy hotel and my dad loved having barbecues. It was pretty natural to learn from them and pick up a thing or two. The only thing I didn't pick up was how to make a decent cup of tea or coffee, I'm genuinely awful at it. It got to a point where I was handling most of the household chores and taking care of cooking, which I prefer anyways since she comes home exhausted. I've been asking our children, 11 F and 9M, to do some minor tasks around the house and hopefully teach them this sort of thing too. She has a group of friends who hang out regularly, this time it was her turn to host the group at her home. I offered to take our children out for the day, and it was all set. Before we left, I had to finish up some things for work. The office

space is practically on top of our living room, so I could hear what they were talking about the entire time. One of the friends asked how she always kept our house so spotless and my wife just bragged about how she was responsible for it all. Then they all started talking about their gripes with their marriages. A common theme was how unhelpful their spouses were. I felt pretty uncomfortable, so I just left the office and went out with the kids. I came back after they had left for the night and acted as normal until we got to our bedroom. I asked her what was up with that conversation they had and pointed out that I did the cooking and cleaning in our marriage. She told me not to take it personally, and that she just wanted to fit in with the struggles

of her friends. Now I just feel unappreciated, especially since I don't clearly remember any genuine gratitude for what I do from her. Since then, she's been pretty short with me. She says I'm weaponizing what I'm doing against her and holding it over her head. I don't expect her to compliment me each time I clean or defend me religiously, just a little my husband is pretty helpful actually, he does his share would be nice. I can't help but feel like her friends think I'm some sort of deadbeat who comes home to relax and neglect her. Update 1, October 23rd, 2024. I'm pretty shocked this post went as viral as it did, and I tried my best to speak. to my wife yesterday. I just can't believe that this is the woman I married. I tried speaking

with her, telling her that what she did wasn't that big of a deal but was still not a nice thing to do. She didn't like me bringing it up again and just told me to suck it up and stop bitching about one mistake. She apologized, but in a tone that just sounded like she was just tired of dealing with this. I noticed her getting very heated and on the verge of starting an argument so I backed off and switched to a different topic. I asked if we could adjust our duties at home to be more fair for both of us. Since most of our management fell to me. I mean pretty much 90% of things like cooking slash cleaning, including planning for our date nights or vacations for our family rely on me. I do think it's an issue that she gets to come home and just tell me that she's tired.

Then she got up in my face, telling me I had no right to lecture her about chore duties when I'm practically at home most of the time. She completely refused to hear me out and basically told me that what we have works best for our situation. She threw me in my face that she was the moneymaker and that balanced everything out in the end. Even this morning she was pretty annoyed with me, coming downstairs in a bad mood. I'm very sure our kids noticed it too, but I drove them to school after they got ready. When I got back I noticed that my wife left her packed lunch on our kitchen counter. So now I'm sitting here, just feeling like the woman I've known for 15 years hates me. I guess I'll have to push this issue properly even if she gets angry. She's been

ignoring my texts and attempts to call her. I can't just let her act like this, especially in front of our children. Update 2, October 24th, 2024. I think I'm just done at this point. I did something I never did before and went into her phone while she slept. We both know each other's passwords, so it wasn't really difficult. Some of the cheating comments got to me and I felt pretty paranoid about this situation. Instead I found a group chat with some of her work friends, different from the other friends she had over. It was just non-stop mockery of me and some of the stuff I did for her. She told them how embarrassed she feels to be with me and that I dode on her like a parent and don't feel like her husband. The lunches I packed for her are humiliating because

I had sweets and other treats I know she likes. Some of her co-workers teased her about the snacks I have in for her and she admitted to just throwing them out at work. She doesn't have any issue eating them at home, but at work she throws out my baking. She had some choice words to say about me in her chat, some of which I don't have the courage to type out here. One of her meme pictures was of me on my knees scrubbing a bathroom tile, edited to have some sort of dress on like I was some sort of housewife from the 1960s or something. I just closed her phone and left the bedroom. I confronted her about the chat in the morning and the contents of it which got her panicking. I focused on our kids this morning and left her to her own devices. It's not like she would

have appreciated a kid's lunch anyways. Now she's texting me like crazy at the office. But I think I lost all respect for her and what she's become. Not only does she find me overbearing and embarrassing as a husband, but then I find out she mocks me to her friends and exposes some sensitive relationship issues to her group chat. This will probably be the last update, since I don't think she can come back from this. We just celebrated our 15th anniversary last month too. I feel like a loser now after seeing what my wife actually thinks of me. Comment whereop has replied, comment her, are you a stay-at-home father? Op, we both work, she makes about 100k a year while I make around 70k.

She earns more but she's definitely not the only income in our household. What makes my job great is that my boss lets me have a lot of flexibility, so I can work from home and take care of the house and kids as long as I give him a heads up. Final update, November 12, 2024. I know I'm going to get some hate for my business. decision at the end of this all, but I gave my wife one more chance. She gave me a real apology for her actions and how she treated me about two weeks ago. In her own words, she let her friends' comments at work and her best friends affect her too much. My wife wanted to feel included

in the groups by playing both sides, one that has a useless husband and one that has a clingy husband. She's not using them as an excuse and did take full responsibility for how poorly she treated me which is A plus. She suggested some sort of marriage counseling for us and insisted on doing the planning herself to show me she's dead serious on wanting to make this work. She's copied me in her communications with a counselor, but it'll still be a while before our first appointment. She stepped up in the home too, doing more tasks without me asking. The compliments I used to get have also made a return, so I do feel a little more appreciated. My wife promised me that she wouldn't lie to her friend group anymore and give me the credit I deserve. The work friends I don't know

about, their opinions on me will forever be as they are even though she talked to them. Part of this feels disingenuous, since it took us getting into a bad spot for this to happen. Maybe it's just resentment talking. I just hope this works out for our sake and the kids. And no, she has not been cheating or had some guy in her ear telling her things. A lot of DMs are asking about that. I hope you enjoy this story. Guardians insisted that I hand over the $30,000 I had accumulated for my university education to my exceptional sibling so she could purchase a flat. I am a 19-year-old male student in college. My relationship with my family has always been a bit strained, mainly because of how different I am from the rest of them. I've worked hard to

achieve what I have, maintaining good grades and even securing a scholarship for college. I thought my efforts would finally earn me some respect, but that wasn't the case. My parents have always favored my sister. She's spoiled, entitled, and used to getting her way. It's been clear to me for a long time that they see her as the golden child, while I'm just the responsible one who's expected to handle things on my own. Every time she screws up, I'm the one who has to pick up the pieces or make sacrifices for her. Over the years, I managed to save up $30,000 for college.

This wasn't easy, I earned most of it through part-time jobs and scholarships. This money means everything to me, it's my ticket to a future where I'm not dependent on anyone. But to my parents, it was apparently just another resource to exploit when my sister was short on cash. My sister, Sarah, is 24, but you wouldn't know it by the way she acts. She's been coddled her entire life, always getting whatever she wants without lifting a finger. Right now, she's unemployed and has been for a while. She claims she's figuring things out, but really, she just spends her time lounging around, doing nothing. Despite this, she's decided that she needs a new apartment, something fancy, in a nice part of town.

Of course, she has no savings or income to afford it. One evening, my parents sat me down and told me that Sarah had found the perfect place but was short on money for the deposit. They demanded that I hand over my entire college savings, $30,000, to help her secure the apartment. I was floored. They didn't ask, they demanded. And then came the kicker, if I refused, they said I could pack my things and leave. They made it clear that my future was less important to them than making sure Sarah was comfortable. They didn't stop there.

My mom pulled the whole family comes first card, and my dad said something about how Sarah had always been there for me, which is a complete lie. They tried to guilt me, saying that if I was a good brother, I'd do this without hesitation. The emotional manipulation was strong. At first, I couldn't even speak. I was in shock, completely blindsided by their demand. I asked them how they could possibly think it was fair to take everything I'd worked for and give it to Sarah, who hadn't lifted a finger to help herself.

My dad just shrugged and said it was about keeping the family together. My mom said something about how Sarah needed this apartment more than I needed my savings. That's when it hit me, no matter what I said, they wouldn't listen. They didn't care about what was fair. They only cared about Sarah. Over the next few days, I was a mess, constantly weighing my options. I thought about just giving in to avoid being kicked out. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized how wrong that was.

Why should I have to sacrifice everything I'd worked for just because my sister couldn't be bothered to take care of herself? But on the other hand, standing my ground meant risking everything. I didn't have anywhere to go if they kicked me out. I was on my own. I even considered reaching out to some extended family members, but I knew it wouldn't help. Most of them were just as taken in by Sarah's act as my parents were. I felt trapped, like no matter what I chose, I was going to lose something important.

Finally, I decided I wasn't going to let them push me around. I started researching my legal rights. I knew that as an adult, they couldn't just take my money without my consent. I also made sure to secure all my important documents, birth certificate, passport, bank information, in case things went south. I even started quietly packing some of my valuables and moving them to a friend's place, just in case I had to leave in a hurry. I knew I had to be prepared for the worst-case scenario, being kicked out with nowhere to go. So, I reached out to my college's housing office to see if they had any emergency accommodations available. They didn't, but they pointed me toward some local resources that could help.

It wasn't much, but it was something. When I finally confronted my parents, I was firm. I told them there was no way I was giving up my savings, and that if they really wanted to kick me out over this, I was ready to leave. My dad got furious, accusing me of being selfish and ungrateful. My mom started crying, saying she couldn't believe I was willing to tear this family apart over a little money. If it was really little money, why don't they pay for it then? Sarah, of course, through a tantrum.

She screamed about how I was ruining her life and how I didn't care about her happiness. My parents just stood there, glaring at me, waiting for me to back down. But I didn't. I told them that if they wanted me gone, I'd be out by the end of the week. The next few days were hell. My parents barely spoke to me, and when they did, it was only to throw more guilt my way. My mom started giving me the silent treatment, while my dad resorted to making snide comments every time I was in the room.

Sarah refused to even look at me, as if I'd personally betrayed her. They kept up with the threats and emotional blackmail, trying to wear me down. Despite the hostile environment, I kept preparing to leave. I secretly moved the rest of my valuables to my friend's place and made arrangements to stay with them temporarily if needed. I also reached out to some other friends, letting them know what was going on. They offered their support and even suggested I look into legal action if things got worse. The breaking point came one morning when I found out that my parents had tried to access my bank account. They thought they could just take the money and deal with the fallout later.

But I was one step ahead of them. I'd already emptied the account and closed it. When they realized what I'd done, they were livid. My dad yelled at me, calling me ungrateful and saying that I was destroying the family. My mom just cried and kept asking how I could do this to them. But I didn't back down. I told them that they'd crossed a line and that I was done being their scapegoat. If they wanted me out, I'd leave, but they weren't going to get a single cent of my money.

I knew that leaving quietly would just let them spin the story however they wanted, so I decided to take control of the narrative. I posted a detailed account of what had happened on social media. I included everything, how they tried to force me to give up my savings, the threats, the emotional manipulation. I even posted screenshots of their texts and the bank alert showing their attempts to access my account. To make sure the message got across, I tagged not just my parents and say, sister, but also some of their friends and extended family members. I wanted everyone to know the truth. The reaction was immediate and overwhelming. Most people were on my side, offering support and calling out my parents and sister for their behavior. Some of my extended family reached out,

shocked and disappointed by what they'd learned. They'd had no idea things were this bad. A few people, mostly my parents' close friends, tried to defend them, but they'd they were drowned out by the criticism. It didn't take long for word to spread. My parents' colleagues and friends started distancing themselves, and I heard that Sarah's plans for her new apartment fell through when the landlord got wind of what was happening. She was furious, blaming me for ruining her life, but I didn't care. They'd all brought this on themselves. The fallout was brutal for my parents. Their carefully curated image as the perfect family was shattered.

My dad's work relationships became strained as his colleagues began to see him in a different light. My mom, who prided herself on her social standing, found herself being quietly excluded from her usual circles. And Sarah? She lost her chance at the apartment she wanted so badly, and no one was rushing to offer her another one. After the showdown, I moved in with a supportive friend. It wasn't ideal, but it was better than staying in that toxic environment. Adjusting to independence was tough, but it also felt freeing. I could finally focus on my studies and my future without constantly worrying about what my family would try to take for me next.

My parents didn't take the fall out well. They flooded my phone with calls and messages, alternating between threats and desperate pleas for me to take down the post and come back home. They even tried to twist the narrative, claiming I'd overreacted and that they were just trying to help Sarah out of a tough situation. But by then, it was too late. Everyone knew the truth. I decided to maintain a strict no-contact stance. I blocked them on all platforms and made sure they couldn't reach me. I also sought legal advice about potentially getting a restraining order if they didn't back off.

It wasn't an easy decision, but it was necessary. I couldn't let them drag me down anymore. In the aftermath, a few estranged relatives reached out, offering their help and expressing regret for not getting involved sooner. My college even offered additional financial aid after hearing about my situation, which was a huge relief. Through all of this, I've grown a lot. I'm more confident and self-reliant than I ever was before. My academic performance has actually improved now that I'm not constantly stressed about my family. I've also made new friends and built a support network that I can actually rely on.

Looking ahead, I'm focused on achieving complete financial independence. I'm also seriously considering cutting ties with my family for good. The cycle of toxicity has gone on long enough, and I'm committed to breaking it. It's not going to be easy, but I'm determined to build a better future for myself, one where I'm not constantly looking over my shoulder, waiting for the next betrayal. So Reddit, I'd offer refusing to give up my college savings to my sister and for going public with what my family tried to do to me. Update 1. It's been about three months since I posted my original story, and a lot has happened. I want to thank everyone for their support and advice. It really

helped me get through some tough times. After I moved out and went public with what happened, things got pretty crazy. My parents and Sarah didn't take it well at all. They kept trying to contact me, switching between angry threats and guilt-tripping. I stayed firm with my no-contact rule, but it wasn't easy. About a week after I left, my mom showed up at my friend's place where I was staying. I have no idea how she found out where I was. She was crying and begging me to come home, saying they'd made a mistake and wanted to make things right. I almost felt bad for her, but then she started in on how I was tearing the family apart

and how Sarah was suffering because of me. That's when I knew nothing had really changed. I told her to leave or I'd call the police. She left, but not before saying I was breaking her heart. The next day, my dad called my college trying to get information about my classes and schedule. Luckily, I'd already talked to the administration about my situation, so they didn't give him anything. But it freaked me out that he was trying to track me down like that. Things escalated when Sarah started showing up at places she knew I frequented, the library,

the coffee shop near campus, even outside some of my classes. She tried to corner me, alternating between screaming at me for ruining her life and begging me to give her the money. It got so bad that I had to change my routines and ask friends to walk with me between classes. About a month after I left, I got a call for my aunt, my mom's sister. She said she wanted to meet up and talk. I was hesitant, but she had always been kind to me, so I agreed to meet me. So I agreed to meet her in a public place. When I got there, I found out my parents had put her up to it and they were hiding at a nearby table, waiting for me. I felt so betrayed. I left immediately and blocked my aunt's number two. The social media fallout continued. My parents tried to do damage control

by posting their own version of events, claiming I was a troubled kid who had stolen money from them and run away. Some people believe them, but most saw through it. It was hard seeing family friends and distant relatives take sides, but I was grateful for those who stood by me. Sarah took it to another level. She started a GoFundMe campaign, claiming she was a victim of financial abuse and needed help to escape a toxic family situation. She used my name in it, twisting the story to make it sound like I was the abuser. I had to get a lawyer involved. I had to get a lawyer to get the campaign taken down. Speaking of lawyers, my parents threatened legal action against me.

They claimed I owe them money for raising me and that they had a right to my savings. It was ridiculous, but it scared me enough to seek legal advice. The lawyer assured me they had no case, but advised me to keep documenting everything just in case. About two and a half months after I left, I got a surprising email from Jack, Sarah's ex-boyfriend. They'd broken up a few months before all this happened, and I'd always thought he was a decent guy who got sucked into my family's drama. He apologized for not reaching out sooner and said he wanted me to know he supported me. Jack told me some things about Sarah that shocked me.

Apparently, she'd been cheating on him throughout their relationship, often with guys who could buy her expensive gifts or take her on trips. He said she was always talking about how she deserved a more luxurious lifestyle and how unfurial. fair it was that she had to work for anything. It made me see her behavior in a new light. I also found out from Jack that Sarah had been fired from her last job for stealing. My parents had covered it up, paying back what she took to keep the company from pressing charges. I was furious that they'd done that while expecting me to give up my hard-earned savings. About three months after I left, I got a call from a number I didn't recognize. It turned out to be my grandfather, my dad's father.

We'd never been close. He lived in another state and we only saw him every few years. He said he'd heard what happened from a cousin and wanted to hear my side of the story. I was cautious at first after what happened with the antitrust, but as we talked, I realized he was genuinely concerned. He told me that he'd had his own issues with my dad over the years and that he wasn't surprised by what had happened. He apologized for not being more present in my life and offered to help me out financially if I needed it. I was touched by his offer, but I told him I wanted to make it on my own. He respected that, but said the offer would stand if I ever changed my mind.

It meant a lot to know that I had some family on my side. The conversation with my grandfather made me curious about other family members I'd lost touch with. I reached out to a couple of cousins on my mom's side who had always gotten. along with. One of them, Megan, told me she'd had her own issues with my parents and Sarah over the years. Megan told me something that made me extremely angry as I didn't know about it while living with them. A few years ago, she'd been going through a tough divorce and needed a place to stay for a few weeks. My parents had initially offered to let her stay with them, but then Sarah complained that she didn't want Megan invading her space. My parents kicked Megan out after just

three days, leaving her to sleep on friends' couches until she could find an apartment. I couldn't believe they'd do that to family while demanding I give up everything for Sarah. As all this was happening, I was still trying to figure out my living situation. My friend's parents were kind enough to let me stay with them, but I knew it couldn't be a long-term solution. I started looking for a cheap apartment near campus, but everything was out of my price range. A few days later, I ran into one of Sarah's friends at the grocery store. She tried to guilt-trip me, saying Sarah was depressed and it was all my fault. I asked her if Sarah had told her the whole story.

She admitted she only knew Sarah's version. I gave her my side of things, and I could see the doubt creeping into her expression. She left looking confused, and I felt a small sense of satisfaction. The next day, I got a call from the bank. Someone had tried to access my new account using my social security number. The bank had flagged it a suspicious activity and blocked it. I knew immediately it had to be my parents. I filed a police report and started the process of putting a freeze on my credit.

I was shaken by how far they were willing to go. I decided it was time to take more serious action. I went back to the lawyer I'd consulted earlier and started the process of getting a restraining order against my parents and Sarah. It was a drastic step, but I felt like I had no choice. The day before the hearing for the restraining order, I got a frantic call from my mom. She was crying, saying she'd heard about the hearing and begging me not to go through with it. She said it would destroy the family and ruin their lives. I told her they should have thought of that before they tried to steal for me and harass me and hung up. The hearing itself was intense.

My parents and Sarah showed up with a lawyer of their own. They tried to paint me as an ungrateful, troubled kid who was lashing out at his loving family. But I had evidence, the texts, the emails, the social media posts, the bank records. The judge saw through their act and granted the restraining order. After the hearing, as I was leaving the courthouse, Sarah tried to approach me one last time. She looked terrible, like she hadn't been sleeping. She started to say something about how sorry she was, but then her face twisted and she spat out, I hope you're happy now that you've ruined all our lives.

A bailiff stepped in and led her away. It was the last time I saw her. I've also started looking for a part-time job to help cover my living expenses. It's tough balancing work in school, but it feels good to be fully independent. I'm determined to make it on my own. I'm not going to lie, it's been a tough few months. months. There are days when I miss having a family, even if it was a dysfunctional one. Holidays are especially hard. So, that's where things stand now. I'm still processing everything

that's happened, but I'm moving forward. Final update. It's been about a year since my last update, and I can't believe how much has changed. I want to thank everyone for their continued support throughout this journey. Your encouragement has meant more than you know. After the restraining order hearing, things were quiet for a while. I thought maybe my family had finally gotten the message. But you know what they say about the calm before the storm? About three months ago, I got an unexpected call from my uncle, my dad's brother. We'd never been close, but he sounded genuinely concerned.

He told me that things had spiraled out of control with my parents and Sarah. Apparently, Sarah had gotten involved with some shady people and owed them a lot of money. My parents, in their infinite wisdom, had taken out a second mortgage on the house to try to pay off her debts. But it wasn't enough. One night, these people Sarah owed money to showed up at my parents' house. Things got ugly. My uncle didn't have all the details, but he said the police were involved and my dad ended up in the hospital with a broken arm. Here's where it gets really messed up.

My parents, despite everything, are still trying to protect Sarah. They told the police it was just a random break-in. But word got out in the family about what really happened. A few days after my uncle's call, I started getting messages from my parents again, I unblocked them as they are still my parents, big mistake. They were begging me to come home, saying they needed my help. They even tried to guilt me by saying that if I'd just given them the money when they asked, none of this would have happened. Can you believe it?

They're still trying to make this my fault somehow. I ignored their messages. I've also managed to save up enough to move out of my friend's house into a better apartment and a more secure building. It's a bit further from campus, but worth it for the peace of mind. But then Sarah showed up at my apartment, ignoring the restraining order. I have no idea how she found out where I live as I had moved there recently. She was a mess, crying, begging for money, saying she was in danger. I told her to leave where I'd call the cops.

She screamed that I was killing her and that if anything happened to her, it would be my fault. It was awful. I called my lawyer right after that and were in the process of extending the restraining order to include my current address. I've also had to inform my landlord and neighbors about the situation, just in case Sarah or my parents try anything. On top of all this drama, I found out through the other family members that my parents have been telling everyone that I'm the one who got Sarah into trouble. They're claiming I introduced her to these shady people and that I owe them money too. It's complete nonsense, but some relatives are believing it. I've had to block a bunch of people on social media because of the hateful messages I've been.

was getting. I've also made some great friends over the past year. They've become like a chosen family to me. We're even planning a celebration together. As for the latest updates with my parents and Sarah, I've heard through the grapevine that they're facing foreclosure on the house. Part of me feels bad for them, but a bigger part knows that they brought this on themselves. I can't help but think about how different things could have been if they just respected my boundaries and treated me fairly. So that's where things stand now. Thank you all again for your support throughout this journey. I couldn't have done it without you. I hope you enjoy this story. Former spouse departed from me and our children for a lucrative position and terminated our marriage following our

relocation to a different town. Shortly thereafter, she encountered a dire predicament and begged me to come back. About seven months ago, Emma, my ex-wife, 42F and I'm 44M, moved away for her new job. She had been offered an upper management position in a company that she had applied to without my knowledge and the reason she had done so was because she knew that I would never agree to move away. We had been together for 12 years, married for 10 and we have 8-year-old twins together. Both our families are situated here and a few years ago, my father was diagnosed with leukemia. Since then, it's been very difficult for our family because my dad's health hasn't been great and we are always afraid of when we might lose him. Naturally, as his only son, I want to be here for him and also for my mother and so, I hadn't wanted to move away after my dad's diagnosis.

I thought that Emma would understand what I was going through, but instead, she told me that I was being a little too sensitive and that I can't just keep turning down opportunities to work out of state and expect her to do the same just because my dad was going through. was sick. Before my dad fell sick, we had actually been planning to move away because she wanted a change of pace but after my father's diagnosis, I told her that it would not be possible for me anymore. She tried to be understanding of it in the beginning but gradually, since last year or so, she had started to become very restless and we had been fighting quite frequently over this. She wanted to move away because she felt stuck here and I couldn't possibly think about moving away while my dad was in such a condition, especially since since it would also mean having to leave my mother to deal with it all on her own.

Even if I had had any siblings, I wouldn't have been able to leave because my conscience wouldn't have let me. And I kept trying to explain that to Emma but she refused to see my point, and I just felt like she was being selfish, whereas she felt like I was the one being selfish. And then, earlier this year, she just came home from work one day and told me that she had applied for a high-paying position in a company outside of state and she got the job. That came as a shock to me and I wanted to be happy for her, but I just couldn't because she hadn't told me anything about this application or this job. I was kind of in shock, so I just congratulated her and then I said nothing.

That day, I remember we got into an argument because she didn't think I was happy enough for her, even though it was a pretty big deal because I have to admit, it was a good job with decent pay. However, I was just upset that you hadn't even thought that she needed to talk to me about it before applying and she told me that she didn't even think that she would get the job but now that she had it, she was thinking of moving away and she wanted me to come along with her. She wanted to relocate our entire family, knowing what my feelings on this were. So we ended up fighting over that and it was one of our worst fights. It got so bad that she ended up leaving to go stay with her parents for a couple of days and we had no contact for those. days, so I actually thought that she was going to file for a divorce and put an end to this. But then, she came back home and we ended up deciding that we were going to try and patch things up between us because we still had the kids and we couldn't let them down.

And back then, I thought that I could still make it work with her because I didn't want to let go of this marriage. I was sure that I loved her and she told me that she did too, which is why she wanted to make it work. But she also didn't want to give up on her dreams and so, after she was. After a lot of discussion, we decided that she was going to take up the job and I would stay back here. She told me that she was going to try and travel back and forth as often as she could, so we could make this work. We had no other option but to choose a long-distance marriage for now since

neither of us was ready to give up on each other. It was hard for me to agree but I had to do it, at least for a while, before we could figure out what we wanted to do in the future. So then, she left and she would come back home every alternate weekend, but even then, she would only get to spend two days with us and take a flight back on Sunday evening since she would have to be back for work every Monday. It was tiring for her and I knew it, but there was nothing that I could do since she had agreed to this arrangement. With time, I guess she started resenting me, and her attitude towards me got worse.

We had promised each other that we were going to try and make this work, but every time that I would try to call her during the week, she would always be really mean to me and we would inevitably end up arguing about something or other. After a certain point of time, it started feeling like she didn't even want to speak to me, and instead of calling her on my own, I started waiting for her to call me first. And then, we started speaking less to each other, and even when we would talk, it was always very cold and weird, and I didn't know what to make of it. Then, eventually, after having spent almost four months away, she came home one weekend and had divorced papers with her. At the time, things were really tense between us and she told me that she couldn't do this anymore.

When she came back home that weekend, we hadn't spoken for almost six days in a row because of the argument that we had the last time that we spoke. And I wanted to come up with a reason not to get a divorce, but I couldn't come up with anything. Because the last fight that we had was one where she had actually thrown out the idea of separating and ending this marriage for good. I should have seen that coming because for months, not only had we been fighting, but she had also been getting closer to a certain friend of hers from high school. This friend, let's call her Melissa, was not a good person and was an even worse influence. Emma had always been good friends with Melissa and that woman had even been there as a bridesmaid at our wedding, but I had never

liked her because she had always given off a weird vibe. From what I knew about her, she had She was a total gold digger and always went after rich married men so she wouldn't have to commit to them, but would still get the benefits of being with a rich guy. She would even brag about it as if what she was doing wasn't detestable enough. When I used to bring up her behavior with Emma, she used to tell me that it was her personal choice and that we shouldn't judge her. That was quite infuriating, so eventually, I just stopped talking about Melissa and decided to ignore that friendship altogether. It got easier eventually because after Melissa moved away, and Emma got caught up with work and kids, they kind of drifted apart. Anyway, I had known that Melissa had also been living in the same state with her son for a couple

of years since she had moved away after her second divorce, probably to scout for new prey. Coincidentally, when Emma got a job in the same state, she reached out to Melissa and she was the one who introduced her to the city and helped her move in and stuff along with me. I was there all along, and I had hoped that maybe Melissa would have sober up after so many years, but she was still the same weird person. I was not comfortable with Emma being so close with Melissa once again, but she was the only friend that Emma had there, so I couldn't even say anything about it. In the months that Emma had been staying there, she had told me that Melissa had been really supportive of her since she was on her own and had even introduced her to a couple of her own friends. This so-called group that Melissa had introduced Emma to was very dicey because as far as I remember, it was three or four women who were all single mothers.

They had met through Facebook and had a Facebook support group kind of thing together. From whatever Emma had told me, these women had all been with men and had kids with them but due to a variety of reasons, their partners had abandoned them and now, they were raising their kids on their own and the only support they got was a child support check. However, it was not as sad as it sounds because most of the women that Melissa was friends with were just like her. They had gone for super rich men, had affairs with them, got pregnant, and then when these men had decided to stay with their wives and families. These women managed to get them to pay a big fat child support check from them which supported their lifestyle. It actually wasn't just a support for them, it was also payment for them to keep their mouths shut since I'm assuming these men didn't want word of their affairs.

getting to their wives. It was very common for all of them to have some online business that nobody was really interested in but they were self-employed and wanted people to believe that they were doing it all on their own. But in reality, they were running a scam and proudly called themselves independent women who had all the freedom in the world to live by their own rules, while living off of the money of men who had been stupid enough to fall into their traps. Emma thought it was funny but I thought it was disgusting and I didn't think that it was a good

idea for her to be socializing with them. However, she kept offending her friends and told me that she had gotten to know them personally and they were all really nice women. And given how we were already fighting about so many things, I didn't want to fight about that as well, so I didn't say anything. But then, in the last fight that we had before she filed for a divorce, she told me that she really admired Melissa's strength because even without any help from any man, she was raising her two kids brilliantly on her own. I ended up scoffing at that and I told her that anybody who makes as much money from getting pregnant after an affair with rich guys would also probably be taking good care of the kids since that was not their child but a meal ticket for them. And that was what led

to a huge blow-up fight between us because before that, we had been trying our best to keep a lid on our tempers but the frustration had just been building up for months and that day, that little disagreement over one thing was enough to set us both off. We started cursing at each other. We started cursing at each other, telling each other exactly how much we hated the situation, and just kept blaming each other. After one point, she just said that if we were just going to fight like this all the time, it was probably better for us to go our separate ways and then disconnected the call. I thought she didn't mean that and I thought that she was going to call me and apologize, but that never happened. And I was really upset with her as well, so I didn't bother to reach

out that weekend, she showed up with the divorce papers and I decided to go ahead with it because I couldn't find a reason to stay with her anymore either. We had tried our best to make it work, but it didn't, unfortunately. And even the kids, the ones we were supposedly staying together for, hardly got to see us together and even when we were together, we were not happy. So rather than letting them grow up in a toxic environment, we decided to get a divorce. The divorce process was relatively simple since we don't have a waiting period here in our state and we only had to divide our joint assets, which was simple enough.

I got to keep the house and the kids since she didn't want to take them away with her right now and said that at the moment, we could stick to our arrangement of her coming back here every weekend to meet them. We had been splitting the cost of raising them anyway, so we continued to do that. Once they were a little older, we would leave it up to them what they wanted to do. It was not convenient for either of us, but we didn't want to fight for custody since we believed that our kids deserve both of us in their lives. As for the house, we had a verbal agreement that we would put it up for sale in a few years and whenever it sold, we would split the money. Anyway, the divorce was finalized about a month ago and I didn't think that she would speak to me after that because even

while we were getting divorced, we hardly had anything to talk about outside of the meetings with our lawyers. Now that everything had been finalized, I was trying to cope with the situation since even though it actually felt like nothing had really changed since we were still going to stick to the same routine. Life was definitely going to be pretty different for me now because I was no longer married to Emma. My kids were also very confused about what was going on so I had to explain to them that their mother and I were no longer together, even though nothing exactly had changed. But last night, she decided to call me up again so we could sort things out between us and give our relationship another chance because apparently, she had made a huge mistake. and she wanted to reverse the divorce. I could tell that she had been crying and she was pretty much hysterical on the phone call. She started ranting about how she had unintentionally

glamorized the lifestyle that Melissa and her friends had been leading and because of that group, she had decided to file for a divorce. She hadn't mentioned it to me earlier because she knew how I felt about Melissa, but after that last fight that we had, she had spoken to her group of friends, and they had told her to go for a divorce. She had been a skeptical about it initially, but they talked her into it so, she spoke to a lawyer that they put her in touch with. But one month has passed since then and she has tried literally to get herself to move on, like dating apps and blind dates and even going out every other night but has only ended up hooking up with random people and that has only made her feel pathetic because at least

with me, even when we were fighting. She knew that she loved me and I loved her. Now, she's just really lonely, and more than anything else, she also misses the kids. Her friends told her that this would pass, but she hasn't been able to get rid of the loneliness and the guilt after the divorce. On top of that, her company had been doing pretty well when she joined, but she has had several pay cuts since then because apparently, they had kind of embellished how well they were doing to get her on board and her income now doesn't match what she had been offered initially. It's not just her, everyone in the company has been going through the same thing and they keep telling people that things will work out if they keep working hard, but she thinks it's just

so that they can retain their employees and that's another part of the reason why she wants to come back to me. She said that she really wanted me to consider it and reverse the decision to get divorced because she just misses her family and what her life used to be. But after she was done talking and explaining her situation to me, I just felt furious with her because I couldn't believe that she had allowed her stupid and immoral friends to talk her into getting a divorce. I had always warned her against Melissa, and I had also made it very clear that I didn't like the company she was keeping after she moved away, but she never paid any mind to me. And now, they had turned out to be the reason that she ended up making the decision that she did. Had it been her own mistake, I might have even been all sympathetic towards her, but the fact that she had chosen to listen to people that I hated really got on my nerves.

The audacity to call me up and start crying about all of these things as if it had all been very easy for me, just made me very upset, and I ended up snapping at her. And now she had to lie in it because I was not going to help her out here. In spite of everything, I had tried my very best to make this marriage work. And I'm not talking about the last few months, I'm talking about ever since my dad fell sick. I had been fighting for our marriage relentlessly and for a while, so had she, but she had been immensely selfish for the past couple of years and that's how we had ended up here, divorced. The least she could have done while she had been staying away was at least try to understand my feelings and situation, but she allowed herself to get carried away by friends

whom she knew I did not like. I told her that she was not a high school kid anymore and that a juvenile excuse like her friends had influenced her to make bad decisions was not going to work with me. She wasn't coming back home drunk to her parents, this was a very different situation and it had affected my life and even the kids. And now, just because it's inconvenient for her, she wants to reverse the divorce. Firstly, of course, that's not how it works and secondly, even if it did, I wouldn't do it. I was really upset by everything she had told me right before that and I just couldn't hold back. So I told her that now, if she was feeling really lonely and guilty, then she should just ask her friends for help because I'm sure if they were the ones who had

encouraged her to file for a divorce, they cared about her enough to take her in. If she was not doing well financially and support her emotionally as well. I was also very annoyed by the fact that she had basically just confessed that she had been hooking up with random people for the past month after our divorce. Technically, she was single, so she was allowed to do whatever she wanted. But it made me feel really uncomfortable and depressed because I felt, felt like it had cheapened whatever we had shared for the past 12 years. So I told her that I did not want her back in my life anymore,

especially after the things she had just told me, and that I was going to make sure that the kids stayed with me because I was not sure if she was a good influence on them anymore. She started crying even harder and told me that she was ready to do anything it took to make things right, but I told her that she had made a decision and she had to live with it, and the kids and I did not need her anymore. Then, I hung up and blocked her. When I woke up this morning, I had several messages from my ex-in-laws and they were telling me that I shouldn't have said the things that I did because she was already really low and it was not nice of me to kick her when she was down.

They said that it was not necessary because she was already regretting everything that she had done and seemed to try and punish her more by telling her that the kids and I did not need her. I wouldn't have cared about what my ex-in-laws say, but they have been very kind to me after the divorce, so I don't know. Ida for telling my ex-wife that I don't want her back and that the kids and I don't need her anymore. Update 1. Hello, guys. Thank you so much for all the support that you guys have shown for me in the comments. I don't know how to say it, but it really means a lot to me, knowing that so many people are on my side here. And it means even more to me that so many of you have identified with my story and have reached out to let me know that things are going to be all right. It's very kind of you guys and I know that things are going to get better. It has been four days since I posted and I had blocked Emma after we had the conversation so she hasn't been able to get in touch with me.

But this weekend, she is supposed to come over to see the kids and spend some time with them, so I don't know what's going to happen then. For the past couple of months, ever since the divorce was initiated, she would just pick up the kids from my place and go to her parents' place to spend the weekend with them and occasionally spend some time here. with all four of us for some family bonding. But mostly, she would try to stay away from me and I was fine with it because it just made things easier for me. This weekend, though, it's anybody's guess. I'm actually kind of dreading having to see her because her parents have been very upset with me and have told me that the things that I said to her were so harsh that she has ended

up crying every single time that they have called her after that. I haven't been responding to any of their messages because I don't really know what to say to them. But I feel kind of bad because I know Emma is kind of a really non-emotional person and I know that I really managed to hit her where it hurts because she's been crying so much. Even though she hasn't exactly been kind to me and our circumstances haven't been the best, I still feel really sad for her because we could have had a great life and I feel like she ruined it all for herself. I did my best to make it work, but it's not like I can make the marriage work on my own without any help from her. I don't know what to say anymore, to be honest.

Update 2 so Emma came over yesterday to pick up the kids and we ended up having a discussion about everything that had been said. It was clear from her appearance that she had been having a very hard time and I could see it on her face and I found it really hard to be cold to her. So then she asked me if I would be willing to talk to her just for a bit and I ended up agreeing. Once the kids were in their room, we got to talking and she told me that she was really sorry about everything. And she wasn't referring to the recent months, she was referring to the past couple of years because it had taken a lot for her to realize how selfish she had ultimately been and she even said that she did not deserve me. She told me that in the past few

weeks, after the divorce, every time she would go out on a date or hook up with any guy, all she could think was how she wasn't sure if this was the kind of life that she wanted for herself and felt guilty for throwing it all away. She had built it up all in her head, but it wasn't all that it was cracked up to be, and when she realized that, it was too late for her to do anything about it because she had already lost me. While talking, she started crying again, and I tried to come for her, but she told me that it would only make her feel worse because that just made her realize the kind of person I was and how badly she had treated me. It was kind of bittersweet, hearing her say these things about me because I would have really appreciated that when we were

together, but now, I don't know what to say about it. Anyway, after a while, she told me that she had decided to quit her job and move back here so she could be closer to her family. She also wanted to spend more time with the kids because she had already been losing out on so much time with them, it didn't seem worth it to stay outside for such little money and sacrifice so much. The only request she had for me was that she wanted me not to file for full custody like I had said I would, and I told her not to worry about it, I had said it in the heat of the moment,

but I didn't have any intention of actually doing it because both she and I had always maintained that our kids shouldn't have to suffer. And I knew that they missed their mom. So spending some more time with her would definitely do the kids more good and I would be supportive of that as well. After we were done talking, she apologized to me for everything once again and told me that I was a good man. She also promised me that she was going to try and be better mother and a better person and thanked me for even letting her speak to me after everything that happened instead of just shutting the door in her face. That got me a little emotional, but I didn't say anything and then she left with the kids. So that was it and I didn't actually

expect things to turn out to be like this since I thought that she was going to come over and fight with me, but this was nice and unexpected. She has apologized and I'm not going to say that I forgive her and everything is in the past, but at least we are on the right track now. I don't think I can go back to her again, that's very unrealistic after everything that has happened, but the least we can do is try to co-parent our kids to the best of our abilities and make it as peaceful for them as possible. And of course, it will be better for us as well. Now let's see what the future holds.

Update 3. Hey, guys. Okay, so four months have passed since my divorce and after my last update, Emma stayed true to her word and within a few weeks, she quit her job and moved back here. Since then, our kids have been splitting their time between the two of us. They spent half the week at my place and the other half at their mothers and it's been pretty convenient for them till now. Emma had been with her parents for a couple of weeks initially, but then she was able to find an apartment a few blocks away and the kids are having a lot of fun because they have two homes now. As for my ex-in-laws, we are back on normal terms. Of course, we don't speak to each other on a regular basis, but they have apologized to me for bothering me back when Emma was having her breakdown and they told me that it was not my fault. But as her parents, they were just really stressed out and they ended up blaming it on me because it was a bit of a knee-jerk reaction. Emma and I are also back on decent terms. I wouldn't say good terms because it's not like we are friends, but we are cordial with each other and have kept things civil. I'm also slowly but surely moving on and

trying to process everything that has happened and it's going well so far, and I'm hoping that it continues to get better after this as well. I hope you enjoy this story. Mother evicted me due to her fresh household. Subsequently, upon discovering my prosperity, she appeared requesting funds for higher education for my brothers and sisters. 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. others' 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. 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 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'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 Harry at 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. need 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 kicked 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 kicked 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 have been ready to step up and help me out by taking on the responsibility of becoming a co-signer 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 disclosure. 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 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 capable 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 guess that worked. 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 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 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 anytime 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.